Renewable-energy company Emergent Energy will supply a 203 kWp photovoltaic (PV) solar system to Farmsecure Energy’s Novo packhouse, in Paarl.
Construction will begin in March and be completed in April. The 864 solar panels, rated at 235 Wp each, will cover a roof area of about 3 000 m2. Power will be supplied to the packhouse through 19 grid-tie inverters, rated at 12 kW.
The R3-million PV system will generate about 360 MWh of electricity a year, which is enough to sustain 50 middle-income houses and reduce carbon emissions by 400 t a year.
The system will be remotely monitored with the Synaptiq tool, providing real-time energy production data and fault detection.
The project will create about 20 contractual jobs for four to six weeks and guarding against future electricity price increases will protect the existing jobs at the packhouse, explains Emergent Energy CEO Frank Spencer.