At AfrikaBurn this year, we successfully demonstrated that we have the ability to go solar … by going solar. Out of the Blue, 99% of Tankwa Town’s municipal power needs were met this year by the sun’s power, with just 1% coming from a backup diesel generator (which only ran for 13 hours using 150 litres of diesel during event week).

Our solar system comprised a 150kVa inverter, 150kWp (252) panel PV array, 400kWh of battery storage, and 20 metric tons of sand, resulting in our power needs being met nearly entirely by renewable energy.

An additional by-product of the solar system was gathering invaluable data to inform a long-term power strategy. We’re fortunate to be in a position to make use of proper ‘data’ to help make informed decisions about the future, and the image below shows an engineer’s wet dream of how this year’s power needs were addressed.

For the geeks, we generated 15.5 MWh of power over 45 days. That’s enough power to toast 1,379,500 slices of bread from the Flour Power Cartel camp. Our total load was 13.7 MWh, with the largest daily Load of 608 kWh on Friday, 2nd May. For the real geeks, the peak load on that day was 44 kVa. 

Some of you might ask, “So where does all that power go?” And it’s a good question, the answer to which is … mostly to the kitchen that feeds the DPW crew and service providers who support the event each year. Of that 608 kWh load consumed on Friday 2nd May, more than 100 kWh went to the kitchen.

Over more than 70 days, the AfrikaBurn kitchen stores, prepares, cooks and serves more than 31,000 meals. All made with love (thank you, kitchen!). With three deadlines a day, they serve.

Our refrigerator is called Refer. It stands for (Ref)rigerated Contain(er). It draws 6 kVa, and the compressor has to work hard in the desert, operating for 12 hours a day to chill the air from 40℃ to 4℃. So we need to draw 72 kWh daily just to keep the food cold.

Our oven is called The Big Three Phase One – it’s a place-holder name, and suggestions are welcome on a card to info@afrikaburn.com. It also draws 6 kVa, but gets the job done (20℃ to 200℃) for about 6 hours a day. So we draw 36 kWh daily to cook the food.

In just two basic appliances, that’s 100 kWh of the total 608 kWh. The rest goes elsewhere, such as lights, pumps, and device charging, which we can tell you all about some other time.

Are we now ready to talk about seriously reducing all of our dependence on generators in 2026 … not just the team that builds Tankwa Town? We invite the whole community to discuss and decide for themselves, but we’re very pleased and proud to show that it can be done, having taken a massive step this year towards that future on Quaggafontein.

Words and data by Mad Dog Chris Megan