Renewable energy

Renewable energy can improve local farming sector

Renewable energy and farming are a winning combination. Wind, solar, and biomass energy can be harvested forever, providing farmers with a long-term source of income as well as the ability to lower running costs of their operations.

Wind power

Farms have long used wind power to pump water out of the ground and in recent years, generate electricity. Recently, wind developers have installed large wind turbines on farms in the Eastern Cape to provide power to electric companies and consumers. Wind turbines can provide electricity to farmers in areas that have strong winds but not much in terms of electrical infrastructure. Each turbine uses less than half an acre, so farmers can plant crops or  graze livestock right to the turbine's base meaning that they take up little space and even a small area of land can, ultimately be used effectively.

Biomass energy

Biomass energy is produced from plants and organic wastes—everything from crops, trees, and crop residues to manure. Crops grown for energy could be produced in large quantities, just as food crops are. Crops and other biomass wastes can be converted to energy on the farm or sold to energy companies that produce fuel for cars and tractors and even power for homes and communities.

Bio2Watt, a South African company built the first commercially viable biogas project in South Africa, the Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Plant, which it owns and operates. The plant produced its first power into the national grid on 10 October 2015. An independent commercial enterprise with an initial life cycle of 20 years, it will contribute to diversifying the South African energy mix away from coal. The project has resulted in the creation of long-term direct and indirect employment in peri-urban South Africa, which currently experiences high levels of unemployment. The success of BBP is likely to lead to many more plants. With over 14 million cattle in South Africa, a significant number of which are held on large farms, the potential for project replication is substantial.

Solar energy

The amount of energy from the sun that reaches Earth each day is enormous. All the energy stored in Earth's reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas is equal to the energy from only 20 days of sunshine. With South Africa’s wide open spaces and sunny weather farmers can benefit from the abundance of solar energy. Many solar energy companies are providing unique rent-to-own solution to address the high cost of many solar panels. The benefits of this are far reaching as subsistence farmers will be able to run their farms more effectively with the help of government intervention and funding.

Government needs to get involved

Many farmers rely on energy to maintain production and with South Africa’s unfortunate electricity crisis production can and is being negatively affected. Renewable energy is not the cheapest form of energy to implement on a small scale but with more government intervention and funding it can become profitable. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, tripling U.S. use of biomass energy for example could provide as much as $20 billion in new income for farmers and rural communities and reduce global warming emissions by the same amount as taking 70 million cars off the road. New incentives are available from the federal government and a number of states to help capture these benefits. The same positive outcomes can be expected for South Africa if government implements effective processes as seen in other countries such as Germany, Australia and even New Zealand.