ADDO ELEPHANT PARK GETS SOLAR POWER

An ongoing and severe drought has been threatening the Addo Elephant Park for a very long time. The increasing costs may be something of the past as South African National Parks (SANParks) has recently upgraded the water and staff accommodation systems.

Because of the drought, the park has had to have water pumped into its dams by the local Eastern Cape municipality.

Powered by diesel-hungry generators, the pumps drew up tens of thousands of litres of water into the park’s lakes and watering holes. The diesel generators were also noisy and released significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, reports IOL.

Now, the 90-year-old elephant park has been equipped with solar panels as the power source for the water pumps.

Park manager Nick de Goede said that the park has also converted most of its staff accommodation to have solar geysers. Something de Goede says “has significantly reduced costs associated with diesel-run water pumps”.

The park is currently experiencing its longest drought with reports saying it’s now the driest it has been in the 90 years since the park was opened.

Image credit: Trip Advisor