Camphill Village

Under the direction of the Rays of Hope association based in Germany, an important social project was completed and put into operation in South Africa on March 19, 2014, with BAE participation. The first phase of the project is a 20 kW photovoltaic system for a community dairy in Camphill Village, which is located in the Western Cape region. In the second phase, an expansion of capacities by 40kW is planned.

The village is currently home to 87 mentally handicapped adults, who have the opportunity to lead a regulated and largely normal life there. Various fruits are grown on a farm in the village, your own honey can be harvested and, thanks to the dairy, dairy products such as yoghurt and cheese can be produced and the products produced can also be sold.

Since the electricity supply to the dairy was expensive and unstable, various companies were involved in making a 20 kW photovoltaic system possible for this social project. BAE supplied the batteries for storing the solar energy. According to Rays of Hope, the current setup allows the plant to operate 60% off-grid, while the battery would allow around 0.8 days of autonomy.

For the community, the independent power supply of the dairy is an important step towards self-sufficiency and an enormous cost saving, because the managing director James Sleigh hopes to save 1.44 million Rand (approx. 100,000 euros) in electricity costs within the next 20 years. The money saved can therefore flow into the care and support of the residents of Camphill.

The PV construction was successfully implemented with the support of the following international project partners: First Solar, SMA, Schletter, Q3, UfE, Dehn. The company Sieckman Engineering took over the on-site project management, other regional companies were involved in the project in South Africa. Not forgetting the support of the mentally challenged Camphill residents themselves, who have lent a helping hand wherever they could to advance the project.

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