Groot Drakenstein, Western Cape
A premium wine estate and pack house in Groot Drakenstein needed reliable, cost-effective energy to power its cellar operations, irrigation, and pack house through the harvest season — when load-shedding risk is highest and energy demand peaks coincide with the most revenue-critical weeks of the year.
The estate's electricity supply from the local municipality was unreliable during summer peak periods. Cellar temperature control is non-negotiable during fermentation, and cold room failure during harvest represents significant financial risk. The estate's seasonal cashflow profile made large upfront capital commitments impractical.
SOCO ENERGY designed a 200kWp rooftop solar system across the pack house and cellar building, with a 300kWh LFP BESS sized to carry cellar and cold room loads through an 8-hour outage. The system was designed with an extended run-time mode that prioritises critical refrigeration loads in the event of a multi-day grid failure. RTO financing was structured with a seasonal payment profile aligned to the estate's harvest-driven cashflow.
The estate completed its most recent harvest season with zero energy-related interruptions to cellar operations. Electricity costs reduced by 44% year-on-year. The seasonal RTO payment structure reduced financial pressure during the winter off-season. The estate is currently in discussion with SOCO ENERGY about expanding the system to cover irrigation pumping loads.
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