South African renewables company Blockpower is nearing completion of a 4.6 MWp/1.44 MWh hybrid solar-plus-storage system which will help a Zimbabwean tea company cope with patchy grid electricity.
Johannesburg-based Blockpower today announced completion of the second phase of installation of the system across three agricultural estates owned by Tanganda Tea Company, in the Chipinge district of eastern Zimbabwe.
With the business often forced to use back-up diesel generators for more than 12 hours per day, Blockpower will install a 478 kWh battery and 870 kW battery inverter at each of the three estates, plus solar panels at each site. The Tingamina estate has 1.2 MWp of ground-mounted solar generation capacity, the Jersey estate 1.4 MWp, and the Ratelshoek location, 2 MWp, with the battery and inverter still to be added at the latter facility.
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The overall system, which includes a generator, will have a payback period of three to four years, according to Blockpower director Kyle Bohnsack, who was quoted in a press release issued today about the installation.
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