The 2,500 inhabitants of Orania, in the middle of the Karoo desert (center) more than 600 km south-west of Johannesburg, are aiming for self-sufficiency at all levels to isolate themselves from a country that has become decadent in their eyes.
These descendants of mainly Dutch and French Huguenots, who arrived at the tip of Africa in the 17th century, launched an ambitious solar project which should allow them to produce beyond their needs.
The paved road gives way to a track, which leads to a padlocked gate. Behind, a hectare of photovoltaic panels. The sun shines here all year round, sometimes for more than twelve hours a day.
Work on this project, estimated at more than 600,000 euros, began in June 2021. Today, the installation produces 841 KW per hour. Almost enough to supply the city and surrounding farms.
The Afrikaner town is aiming for complete autonomy within three years while the country has been plunged for almost fifteen years into a serious energy crisis, between aging coal-fired power stations, strikes and corruption within Eskom, the public company which produces 90% of electricity in South Africa.
“It was the simple idea of self-sufficiency that pushed us to do this,” François Joubert, who designed the project, told AFP. Because Eskom has "failed miserably".
"Here, you can't count on anyone for the provision of basic services," explains the 69-year-old engineer. "We are very far from Johannesburg, very far from Cape Town, so we have to take matters into our own hands. And that suits us rather well".
- "vital" autonomy -
The 8,000 hectare land on the banks of the Orange River where Orania was founded in 1991, after the abolition of racial laws, had been bought by the son-in-law of Hendrik Verwoerd, former Prime Minister considered the architect of apartheid, and some Afrikaner families.
The locality, tolerated by the South African government, is based on an article of the Constitution which defends the right to self-determination of the people.
“Solar exploitation is a serious game-changer for us. It brings energy stability to the city,” explains its mayor Gawie Snyman. "Our dream would even be to export electricity".
In July, scheduled power cuts, compounded by shortcomings in the national grid, left South Africans in the dark for more than six hours a day, hurting businesses and growth.
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a package of urgent measures, calling on the private sector, individuals and businesses, to invest in solar energy "on all roofs" to supply the national grid.
In Orania, a few kilometers from the solar installation, Annatjie Joubert, the engineer's wife, harvests pecan nuts on her farm in the early morning. A machine shakes the trunks to make them fall into a red tarpaulin.
To irrigate her plantations, she regularly needs energy to pump water from the river. When Eskom schedules load shedding, its trees are thirsty. The new solar energy ensures continuity. "It's vital, especially for pecans who drink a lot," explains this 66-year-old ex-computer scientist.
While the war in Ukraine is driving up the price of cereals, "we must also produce our food as much as possible", underlines Mr. Joubert, flat cap and sleeveless down jacket, in his field of solar panels.
The next stage of solar production in Orania will be the installation of storage batteries within a few years. To finally allow the city to completely free itself from the national network.
