By installing a 4060 SW250 solar polycrystalline panel, Agri-food business, Rooibos Ltd. will not only honor its new 25-year agreement with SolarWorld, the company will also cut down its electricity output by 43 percent, Ventures Africa reported.

According to the report, cost emissions will see a 866.53 ton reduction. As the solar polycrystalline panel will generating 511kWp of power, the new agreement falls in line with agri-food businesses’ requirement to reduce gas emissions, Rooisbus noted.

“It will see a payback on invested capital in the next 7 years,” the company stated outlining that the investment is also good for current business.

“Rooibos Ltd’s commitment to sustainability through the use of renewable energy signals a tipping point in the Agri-food industry,” Gregor Kupper, SolarWorld Managing Director told Ventures Africa.

Ceres Fruit Ltd., another agri-business has followed suit partnering with a German firm to oversee their solar energy transition and instillation.

“The major reason influencing our decision to install a solution of this size was to fix our electricity costs…Considering that we consume approximately 29.7 million Kwh of electricity annually, this will result in considerable savings,” Francois Malan, managing director of Ceres Fruit Ltd. said.

According to Ventures Africa, SolarWorld handles both manufacturing and marketing aspects of the solar value chain. Established in 1988, the company “also constructs ‘turn-key’ solar power plants,” the report said.