15 September 2023
By: Nelia Richter
A platform that enables farmers to supply power to the national grid will make a significant difference in addressing load-shedding.
A farmer from the Eastern Cape who has invested heavily in solar power since 2017 says if farmers are allowed to feed power into the grid the difference will be “startling”.
Gary Vorster grows several crops, including potatoes, near Elliot. Over five years, he increased his power-generation capacity from 27kWh to 100kWh. “However, the barriers to feed it into the grid are substantial.”
During a discussion at Nampo Cape in which Vorster participated, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joked that he generates as much power as the Kusile power station on any given day. Dr Kandas Cloete from the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy was the third panellist (see another story on this on Landbou.com).
Due to his power-hungry potato packing facility, Vorster switched to a Ruraflex tariff, in which power use is calculated based on three scales. “You only receive credit for power usage during the day, and the billing process is extremely expensive. Furthermore, no one can audit Eskom for power fed back into the grid,” he said.
“Eskom is still unwilling to switch the power generated during the day for nighttime use.”
Nevertheless, he said he could fully pay off his investment in renewable energy within four to five years. Operating diesel generators is six times more expensive than using Eskom power.
He questioned the limitations set by Eskom, such as not allowing more than 30% of the line capacity to be fed in, as well as the directional limitations on power availability to consumers. “Power cannot be consumed upstream. This issue needs to be examined closely.”
Regarding the possibility of biogas, Vorster said surplus potatoes are used in a biogas digester. However, storing and compressing methane is expensive. It is cheaper to compress propane, a byproduct of cooking oil.
“You need two-and-a-half times more methane gas to fuel something compared to propane gas. If you can figure out the technical details of storage and compression, it would be very valuable.”
It is essential to find someone to create a platform on behalf of farmers so supplying power to the grid is possible. “It could be Agri Eastern Cape, but there is no doubt that it needs to happen to bring about meaningful change.”
The government and Eskom do not have the mindset to bring about change. “They need to realise they don’t need to control everything – they simply need to be in a position to allow people to make changes.”
Vorster suggested a well-thought-out grid system in which farmers do not consume power during peak periods of public demand would significantly relieve pressure on the grid.
“Farmers don’t need to use power during those peak times, and it’s easy to switch off the system during those times. This kind of cooperation would be mutually beneficial, because at this stage we are waiting for Eskom to make it possible for farmers to feed power into the grid.”
Although the conditions are not favourable for feeding power into the grid, the resourcefulness of individuals should be encouraged. “Every farm’s location and infrastructure are different. You would be amazed at the plans farmers can come up with.”
