From Diesel to Digital: How Renewable Energy Is Powering the Next Generation of South African Farms

The Van Reenen family's transformation of Kus tot Kruin demonstrates how off-grid renewable energy is becoming a strategic technology investment for modern agriculture.

As South African agriculture accelerates its digital transformation, reliable energy has become far more than an operational necessity—it is the foundation upon which precision agriculture, irrigation systems, farm management platforms and connected technologies depend.

For the Van Reenen family, owners of Kus tot Kruin, a commercial vegetable and herb farm near Herbertsdale in the Western Cape, building that foundation meant overcoming significant infrastructure challenges before they could fully realise their vision.

After acquiring the farm in 2024, the family embarked on an ambitious redevelopment programme to transform underutilised land into a productive farming operation. The first hurdle was access to water.

Building the Infrastructure First

The farm's primary water source lay in the Gourits River at the foot of a steep mountainside, with no practical access route.

Instead of accepting the limitations, the family invested in developing access infrastructure, constructing a mountain road, installing pipelines and building water storage dams to support irrigation.

By the end of 2024, the first vegetable crops had been established, laying the foundation for a growing commercial operation that now supplies Woolworths.

However, increased production introduced another technology challenge.

Energy Becomes a Business Risk

Like many remote farming operations across South Africa, Kus tot Kruin operates beyond the reach of the national electricity grid.

Critical infrastructure—including irrigation pumps, boreholes and administrative facilities—depended heavily on diesel generators.

While effective, diesel-powered operations exposed the business to:

• Rising fuel costs

• Ongoing maintenance requirements

• Energy supply uncertainty

• Higher operational expenditure

  
  

For farms increasingly adopting digital technologies, these challenges can limit productivity and constrain future investment.

Renewable Energy as Agricultural Infrastructure

Seeking a long-term solution, the Van Reenen family partnered with Eco Blu Group, renewable energy specialist Energy4All, and investment partner DG Capital to design an off-grid energy solution tailored to the farm's operational requirements.

Rather than deploying a single centralised installation, the project introduced three dedicated solar systems designed around key operational functions:

• 30 kW system supporting borehole operations

• 50 kW system powering office and administration facilities

• 125 kW mountain-based solar installation supplying irrigation pumps from the Gourits River

  
  

Together, the installations provide 205 kW of off-grid solar capacity.

According to the project partners, the system is expected to reduce diesel consumption by approximately 70–80%, depending on seasonal irrigation requirements.

Financing Innovation Supports Technology Adoption

One of the biggest barriers preventing technology adoption across agriculture remains capital expenditure.

The project addressed this challenge through an alternative financing model that enabled the farm to implement renewable energy infrastructure without carrying the full upfront investment typically associated with large-scale solar projects. The financing solution also incorporates ongoing system maintenance and insurance, providing farmers with long-term operational support, predictable costs, and greater confidence that critical energy infrastructure will continue to perform throughout its lifecycle.

Flexible financing models such as these are increasingly important as agribusinesses seek to modernise infrastructure while managing cash flow and investment risk.

Technology Requires Long-Term Partnerships

For the Van Reenen family, selecting the right technology partner proved just as important as selecting the technology itself.

Following previous experiences with renewable energy providers, the family prioritised ongoing technical support and long-term system maintenance over simply purchasing equipment.

As agriculture becomes more technology dependent, vendor relationships increasingly extend beyond installation into continuous support, optimisation and operational reliability.

Renewable Energy and the Digital Farm

Renewable energy is no longer simply an environmental initiative within agriculture.

It is becoming a critical enabler of digital transformation.

Reliable off-grid power creates the foundation for technologies including:

• Precision irrigation systems

• IoT-enabled sensors

• Farm management software

• Remote monitoring platforms

• Data analytics

• Automation and smart pumping infrastructure

  
  

Without dependable energy, many of these digital systems cannot operate effectively, particularly in remote farming environments.

As South African farmers face rising energy costs and increasing pressure to modernise, flexible financing models that include ongoing maintenance and insurance can make renewable energy more accessible. By reducing the need for significant upfront capital while providing long-term operational support, these solutions enable farms to improve resilience, lower operating costs, and build the reliable energy infrastructure required to support digital agriculture.