Agrivoltaic - Botswana
In 2019 BUAN Enterprises and MarketVest started developing the biggest Agrivoltaic Research Facility in Africa (and the Southern Hemisphere) using single axis tracking technology. This facility has completed construction in August of 2022 and is built on the A1 Highway, in Gaborone, at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The installed capacity of the plant is 994kWp and capable of generating over 2 Gigawatt Hours of electricity per annum. The electricity generated by this facility is sold to the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources via a Power Purchase Agreement. The solar energy tariff makes it possible for BUAN not only to enjoy the benefit of consuming green energy but also secures massive energy saving on their electricity bills. The excess energy is being sold on to the Botswana Power Corporation under the Rooftop Solar Programme.
The facility is currently being used to conduct research on the impact of Agrivoltaic technology on Agriculture in Southern Africa. Furthermore, BUAN Enterprises and MarketVest has a joint company called AgriVolt BE (Pty) Ltd which is the commercial arm of this whole project.
This facility was built by Soventix South Africa and Sustainable Energy System
Wasted space on farms are usually defined as one dimensional, or in a singular plain. MarketVest proposes that the airspace directly above (3 to 5 meters), to be used for energy farming thereby increasing farmland usage to 180%. The bottom of the structures will be used as greenhouse spaces, open field production and even converted to free range chicken houses.
Agrivoltaic is the future of climate smart agriculture as it may mitigate some of the negative effects of global warming on crop production. Due to the macroclimates formed under the elevated solar arrays, seasonal crops could be planted two months earlier (Biosphere 2 study), and plants (grasses both broad and narrow leave) wilted and died much later in the season.