Harnessing the sun’s power at Marataba

To the Egyptians it represented their God Ra, while to the Greeks it was Helios. But it was the Romans whose God made it the books of science. ‘Sol Invictus’ (unconquered sun) was the root of the world ‘solar’, derived from Latin name for Sun - ‘sol’.

In 1839, a young French physicist by the name of Edmond Becquerel discovered the Photovoltaic Effect – a process where current (or voltage) is created by exposure to radiant energy or light. Although significant headway was made in research over the next 100 years, it was only in the early 1950s that the modern solar cell was commercialised with the help of a substance called silicone. Sadly the substance came at a prohibitively high cost to the average household. In the early 1970s, Delaware University took its place as a solar pioneer of its time. It integrated one of the first commercial solar systems in a building called “Solar One” to illustrate how it could be an effective and clean energy source for day-to-day requirements. Global trade politics in the early 70s was a major driving force to revisit how countries like the United States create energy. Up until then oil was abundant - as was its consumption!

Rather surprisingly, South Africa’s entry into commercial solar has only really been over the past 30 years – primarily over the last decade where we have seen the most predominant rise in solar solutions by both public and private sectors. When looking at comparative statistics of solar radiation levels of Europe and Africa, we generally have access to 40% more kWh/m² than Central Europe. One has to ask … Why are we not harnessing it more?

It’s a question that has been addressed here at Marataba as part of MORE Family Collection’s sustainable approach to doing business. We have very recently introduced our second sustainable energy project, this time at Marataba Safari Lodge. On the 15th of December 2021, we activated a 216 panel Solar Grid Tie system, in partnership with the team from Raydian Power Solutions, powering the lodge as well as in one of our largest staff accommodations. This is the first phase of a much larger project that Marataba is investing in over the coming years, soon to be rolled out to our other Lodges in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Just these 216 panels alone account for 40% of our daily draw from the national grid, and our current estimated yearly solar production is looking to be around 85MW/h. In layman’s terms, this equates to the same amount of energy it would take to power 20 000 light bulbs for a year – saving the equivalent of 36,000kgs worth of CO2 emissions (it would take planting 1,116 trees to reach this same statistic!)

The numbers…

With our national grid providing 90% of the country’s power (85% being coal-based), we have a responsibility (and the capability) to mitigate this incredibly negative environmental impact on a limited natural resource.

The tourism sector comprises a large portion of South Africa’s annual revenue. With climate change as prevalent as ever and species extinction at an all-time high, it can only be concluded that all sectors need to move towards using ‘clean’ renewable energy sources as well as having a more sustainable approach toward their daily practices. We all need to be part of the environmental solution that affects us all, and sustainability is a mindset which enables a change in behaviour, with longevity of our environment at its core.


“Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something” – Max Lucardo