On Track Alternative Power has recently installed the largest solar installation in Southern Africa. The installation in Botswana was done for the prestigious Zarafa Game Lodge and is situated in the Okavango delta in the heart of Botswana. There is no electricity supply there and the guest are flown into the camp.

Zarafa camp was voted as one of the top international Eco-Friendly camps in the world by National Geographic.

The main challenge was that this camp, being rated as one of the most luxurious camps in the world is, therefore, extremely power hungry.  Apart from all the usual luxuries such as trendy and efficient lighting systems, it also boasts a very large, above ground sewage plant with electric motors, added to this there is a walk in cool room plus several deep freezers, large washing machines, electric irons etc.

The camp’s power requirements were substantial and varied:

• Running of large appliances such as dish washers, tumble dryers as well as fridges and freezers.
• Powering a sewage plant with 16 motors, a walk-in cool room as well as a borehole pump.
• In each room power is needed for lights and fans, pool pumps and walkway lights.

This camp was planned to have an exceptionally  high standard of luxury and had to be designed to offer all of the facilities with no carbon foot print at all.

This installation has the following unique features:

• It is the first time that this type of system has ever been installed on such a large scale
• The entire camp runs on solar power
• There is no noise from generators
• There are no diesel fumes and harmful emissions have been eliminated
• The sun charges the batteries via solar panels and regulators during the day
• Victron inverters run the camp converting battery power into clean AC power 24 hours per day

The system is well power-managed so that not everything runs at one time.

The system was put together by Corrie van Wyk and his team of engineers at On Track Alternative Power Pty (LTD).   The design took 3 weeks and structural construction 4 weeks.  The electrical installation took a further 3 weeks.

The system is fully automated and runs itself. It is designed to harvest as much solar power as possible every day, to charge the batteries, allowing the system to run off stored power at night. There is an emergency generator as a backup system only – in case of several days of bad weather.

The concept system was designed to answer to the burgeoning price of fuel and the ever growing demand on all consumers to reduce carbon emissions. This project was a natural fit with the whole idea of a game farm being for tourists to relax and enjoy wild animals in their natural environment without the noise and pollution associated with traditional off-network power generators.

“We firmly believe that by achieving this first it is a major breakthrough for environmental awareness and true eco-tourism” says Corrie van Wyk.

It is thanks to the owners of the camp for the valuable time and effort they put into this project to make it happen. They are to be congratulated on this major achievement and for the tremendous effort in helping to preserve the environment.

Quote from on site engineer Bryn Reeves “It was an absolute pleasure to install the system in such a remote area.  It amazed everybody that you can run the whole camp without running the generator. It is truly a major breakthrough in technology.”