In South Africa’s northern Free State, the local community of Moqhaka is set to be powered by sunflowers. According to a report from Business Day, the community is set to build a biofuel power station in conjunction with Bio-Energy Africa.
The project has two phases; the first phase will bring an old 30 MW coal-fired power station in Kroonstad back online. In the second phase, a 200 MW bio-powered plant would be constructed which would generate electricity using waste from sunflower plants. Bio-Energy CEO Jock Camarinha said this part of the project would be completed in 10 months.
Camarinha also said the use of sunflowers would have no effect on food security or food prices. "This renewable energy project may form a model for communities elsewhere to harness the resources in their surroundings," he stated.
Camarinha added that the municipality and Bio-Energy were negotiating a purchase agreement with Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned utility company.