At the Don Polo farm in Santa Elena, 780 solar panels were installed to generate 413.8 kilowatts.
Close to the road to Chanduy, in the province of Santa Elena, is located the Don Polo organic banana farm. It has an area of 300 hectares and a production capacity of 540,000 boxes of fruit per year. The owners of the farm, when making the investment in the banana plantation, analyzed the debate on the elimination of fuel subsidies in Ecuador and, in addition, the announcement of markets such as Europe, which consumes a lot of Ecuadorian bananas, of being zero carbon by 2050, forcing its suppliers to implement sustainable systems.
After the analysis, they opted for an electrical production system, especially in the irrigation part, and did not use diesel. After curbing their dependence on fossil fuels, they set the goal of reducing their carbon emissions and found in photovoltaic energy a method that would help them meet that goal.
780 solar panels were installed in the banana plantation and the investment was more than $ 300,000. On December 15 they will come into operation and will generate 413.8 peak kilowatts. “By scale, it is the largest photovoltaic project in the banana sector in the country. We will reduce 100 tons of carbon dioxide per year and aim for energy costs to be reduced by at least 50%”Says Ricardo Umpiérrez, general manager of Mundo Banana, the company that owns the farm.
He says that a previous study was carried out in the area, especially on luminosity, to find out if the incorporation of this technology was feasible. Santa Elena is an arid province and suffers from low rainfall, so in the Don Polo farm the irrigation systems must be used twelve months of the year and this impacts energy consumption. “It is a long-term investment. The equipment has a useful life of no less than 20 years. They are efficient teams”, dice.
The technology, which was imported from China, is easy to maintain and its components allow constant monitoring to make adjustments if necessary, says Gino Pinoargote, president of Genera, the company that installed the solar panels. The fittings, which support the structure, the solar panels and inverters, which are responsible for transforming the current into alternating energy, are brought from the Asian nation.
“The Chinese manufacturing and technology sectors are advanced. In addition, the main component of the panels is silicon and China is the country with the largest amount of reserves of this component ”, he indicates.
The executive affirms that due to the economic importance of the agricultural sector in the country, it is necessary for companies to opt for these renewable energy generation systems: “Our agricultural products represent us in international markets and if these products have sustainability, an environmental character, and social commitment, they have greater competitiveness. Furthermore, a solar power plant is a profitable and viable project. We want to show that sustainability is profitable”.
Genera has worked with several small-scale farms that are already transitioning to electric pumping. The solar panels are connected to the national electrical system and through the so-called bidirectional meter it is possible to know exactly the amount of energy produced and the savings that are being generated. The return on investment of this type of project occurs from the fifth or seventh year.
In the discussion “Premises of COP26 UK 2021”, which was held months before the international summit, it was said that national entrepreneurs should implement initiatives, from their companies, that are related to mitigating climate change. 99% of a company’s strategy must revolve around sustainable production, was suggested at the event. In fact, many multinationals have modified their procedures due to a change in the attitude of the consumer, who is increasingly concerned about the impact on the nature of the items he buys.
“For me, this is an irreversible trend. The markets are already focusing on that line. Bans on insecticides and other chemicals or molecules are increasing. Producers must change the way we produce”, Indicates Umpiérrez. The next step for the Don Polo farm, once the solar energy system is implemented, will be to obtain the carbon neutral certification. (I)
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