Previous CCC carbon footprint reports have shown that irrigation pumps are the largest electricity user on farms. In recent years many farms had the opportunity to participate in energy efficiency studies that were done as part of the IEE and PSEE projects. This case study summarizes the results of the analysis of the energy efficiency of 140 pumps that were tested as part of these projects.
The Lourensford wine cellar in Somerset West, Western Cape processes its own and imported grapes and produces its own wines on site as well as under contract. The cellar is a modern facility, designed and constructed in 2001, with the first production year in 2003. On 23 May 2014 Lourensford commissioned a solar PV panel system made up of 2000 solar panels, mounted on the roof of the winery. The installation provides energy to the cellar, restaurant and coffee shop and has already resulted in energy savings and reduced the overall dependency on grid provided electricity. The peak demand of the winery is during the harvesting period that runs from end January to end April. The huge cellar roof is covered with 2000 solar panels with a capacity of 500 kWp (kilo Watt peak), which will generate approximately 750 MWh (Mega Watt hours) of energy in the first year of operation. This will save 750 tonnes of coal per year - a great investment in sustainability.
The Sundays River Citrus Company (Pty) Ltd (SRCC) is the largest citrus packing and marketing operation in South Africa. It is situated in the Sundays River Valley and operates from three locations: Hermitage, Kirkwood and Summerville. All locations have packhouses, while Kirkwood and Summerville have degreening facilities as well. SRCC has been a driver of energy efficiency initiatives since 2007 and the implementation of an energy management and monitoring system would complement these sustainability initiatives into the future.
Introduction:
Confronting Climate Change has for a number of years provided a freely available carbon calculator tool. Apart from supporting the fruit-and wine industries of South Africa with the use of the tool through training opportunities and direct support, we would also like to assist the users of the tool to move forward from the measurement of their carbon emissions towards the reduction of these emissions.
Although each organisation has its own structures and limitations or opportunities a few logical steps are provided to guide you through the process of managing and reducing your carbon emissions.
For water-scarce countries like South Africa, irrigation is critical, and with the majority of electricity used for pumping being carbon emission intense, irrigation is an important contributor to a farm's carbon footprint. Indeed, according to Confronting Climate ChangeIndustry benchmarkreports, electricity consumption for irrigation is the largest source of farm-level carbon emissions. Therefore, improving water management on farms not only has the potential to save water, but also helps reduce operating costs and carbon emissions.To help farmers access these savings, Koos Bouwer, of Koos Bouwer Consulting, provides his insight into the opportunities for savings obtained during an assessment of irrigation pumping systems on fruit farms. The full report is available HERE.