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08 Mar 2023

Cutting edge technology of hundred hydro atmospheric water extraction solar panels have arrived at Lobu Smallstock Farm where installation is currently ongoing to extract clean water from the sky for drinking purposes.

The 100 solar hydro panels have been donated by scientist Dr Patrick Shiong-Soon of NantBotswana to alleviate saline water challenge at Lobu farm where borehole water is saline and costly to treat.

 The top notch eco-friendly farming technology will harvest water straight from the air and distill it to make it drink ready.

Farm manager, Mr Geoffrey Balogi said the expert responsible for installation was on site assembling and programming the equipment.

“We have prepared the site where we are going to erect our panels and we are making good progress,” he said.

He highlighted that the technology would come handy as water shortage remained a challenge at the farm, owing to  the salinity.

 “We are still running with a single borehole, which is about 30km outside the farm.

We have been powering it with diesel and we changed to electricity in January.

Pumping water is much better, however, we are now facing electricity power cuts and our pumping has become irregular.

Going forward we will install solar equipment as back up,” he said.

The South African Energia Water Company expert, Mr Ian Brown, who is on site installing the panels, said, “We are busy assembling and programming the panels, which we plan to complete by the 20^th of March and there after hand over the technology for commissioning.

We have installed some at the administration block and some at the kraals,” he said.

He said the solar panels were convenient as they would have dispenser taps of distilled water.

According to him, the panels, sourced from Source Company in Arizona, USA, cost US$2 000 each.

He emphasised that the technology of its kind was used often in the US, the United Arab Emirates and some parts of Europe, where climatic conditions were mainly deserts.

In Africa it has been installed at Kenya, South Africa and now Botswana.

“The panels come with powerful portable devices of ozonators, which purify the water internally,” he said.

He dispelled the myth that the new technology dries up the atmospheric moisture.

“The atmospheric moisture will never be depleted.

This technology does not affect rainfall patterns either,” he said. BOKHUTLO