Hydro-electricity: all the power, half the cost
With South Africa's national power supply becoming increasingly unreliable, fruit farmer Kobus van der Westhuizen decided to install a hydro-electric plant on his Western Cape farm. This has greatly reduced his dependence on the grid...
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Power supply has always been one of Kobus van der Westhuizen's biggest headaches. He depends on electricity to cool and dry 80% of his stone and pome fruit crop. In 2013, his annual electricity bill escalated to about R360,000. Power outages also had a major impact on electric equipment. "I lost thousands of rands annually from compressors breaking down due to power outages," he recalls.
Read the full story on http://www.farmersweekly.co.za/.