Botanica Wines beats load shedding at its Sugarbird Manor Guest House in Stellenbosch

OBJECTIVES:

Ensure that the 21.6-hectare Protea Heights farm in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley which is home to Botanica Wines and to Sugarbird Manor, a 4-star luxury guesthouse with nine modern guest rooms and suites and four loft-inspired cottages, is able to sustain its operations during load-shedding. Reduce the dependency of the whole estate to grid power that would cause the wine farm and the guesthouse operations to both be affected during load-shedding. Quickly put on the ground a 20kVA residential gas back-up genset that would support the guesthouse’s operations while a permanent solution for the whole farm was being designed. Install the first commercial PRAMAC 50kVA gas standby generator in sub-Saharan Africa to complement the 20kVA residential gas unit installed a couple of months earlier.

RESULTS:

Once installed and commissioned, SustainPower’s 20kVA unit started producing electricity within the hour and successfully supported the guesthouse’s operations from that evening as load-shedding hit. When the 50kVA unit landed in South Africa a couple of months later, it was installed and commissioned within 48 hours and started supporting the rest of the farm’s operations. SustainPower continues to provide support for the units’ operations & maintenance services.

VALUE TO CLIENT:

Clean, quiet, and automatic back-up power that is ready when needed; giving peace of mind to the farm’s owner, her staff, and her patrons. No more loss in revenue when load-shedding hits, as clients can continue enjoying their stay all around the estate facilities.