Belle Rive Farm is building South Africa's largest off grid agricultural solar and battery system, aiming to secure uninterrupted power for more than 2,000 hectares of farming operations.
A major commercial farming operation in the Free State is investing in what is expected to become South Africa's largest off grid agricultural solar and battery energy storage installation, as rising electricity costs and the need for uninterrupted power continue to reshape the country's farming sector.
RenEnergy has been appointed as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project at Belle Rive Farm, where a 4.89 megawatt peak solar photovoltaic array will be paired with a 20 megawatt hour battery energy storage system.
The installation, currently under construction, will provide electricity across more than 2,000 hectares of farmland through approximately 17 kilometres of medium voltage reticulation, allowing the farm to operate independently of the national electricity grid.
Based on available market data and supplier intelligence, the 20 megawatt hour battery system is believed to be the largest privately contracted, purpose built battery energy storage installation supporting an off grid agricultural operation in South Africa.
