Blue Energy Africa, a developer of clean energy solutions, has set up a 435 kW hybrid solar and battery storage system for Naboom Plastic, a producer of planting bags in Mookgophong, Limpopo. This system enhances energy security and operational resilience, cutting their grid electricity usage by 80% to 90%.
Thanks to this system, Naboom Plastic has started to clear a 60-ton production backlog caused by load-shedding, significantly benefiting its 64 employees and their families.
Loadshedding had severely affected Naboom Plastic in recent years, limiting staff working hours and causing production waste, explains co-founder Koos Lancaster. “Loadshedding cut our production time down to 14 hours. We had to rework staff shifts around outages, with some starting as early as 3:00 AM. It hit us hard,” he says.
“We encountered energy supply problems during loadshedding along with extra disruptions from the local municipality. The new hybrid solar system has been crucial in reducing our production backlog. We can now complete orders more quickly, positively impacting our finances.”