Lourensford Estate in Somerset West has been named Best Farming Practice Winner in the Leadership in Energy Conservation category at the Nedbank Green Wine Awards 2016 for the second consecutive year. The estate invested over R7 million to install 686kWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plants on the roof of the winery and the packshed.
Lourensford sustainable energy investments wins it Best Farming Practice AwardThe historic farm on the slopes of the Helderberg invests in sustainable energy to reduce electricity costs, with the solar plants contributing an expected carbon emission reduction of 987 tonnes per year. The 500kWh solar plant (3,300m²) on the winery roof and the 186kWh solar plant (1,300m²) on the packshed roof, generate 2,800kWh daily, enough to run the winery with the surplus fed to the grid supplying the rest of the estate.
“Our vision is one where economic stability and environmental sustainability go hand in hand in a profitable partnership,” says Koos Jordaan, GM of Lourensford Estate. “The solar power plant forms part of our sustainable agriculture and conservation programme, which has also seen Lourensford protect about 1,200 hectares of Fynbos and plant an extensive Protea farm across 18 hectares.”