Irrigated agriculture plays a critical role in feeding the nation, but its ongoing sustainability and competitiveness relies on reliable, cheap, low emission electricity and diesel for the pumping of water.
According to the National Irrigators’ Council, 93 per cent of fruit, nuts and grapes, 83 per cent of vegetables, 48 per cent of dairy products and 100 per cent of rice is produced by irrigated agriculture.
The renewable energy workshop on October 6 will bring together farmers and industry experts to discuss the uptake of solar, batteries, micro-grids and agrivoltaics (the combining of solar and farming) in the sector and how emissions and power costs can be cut.
A session on future tech will see Neil Thompson, from Queensland University of Technology, talk through the hydrogen economy and how farmers could be well placed to take advantage of these new technologies.
"Recent increases in gas prices on the east coast of Australia have seen deteriorating margins in the ag sector,“ Mr Thompson said.
“At the same time, volatility in diesel pricing has seen similar pressure on farms using diesel for vehicles and irrigation pumps.
“Accordingly, green hydrogen made from spare renewable energy and wastewater potentially offers some hope.”
James Stacey — an irrigator in South Australia who grows grains, oaten hay and livestock — has been using solar to reduce his pumping costs.
He had expensive power bills of $5000 to $6000 a month before installing solar. He said his power bills had now substantially reduced, with the payback in about three years.
“We’re able to export to the grid so that helps generate a small income during the winter months when we don’t irrigate much,” Mr Stacey said
“The rough payback for our solar was about three years so it stacks up economically for our business.
“It has changed the way we irrigate, too, as we used to only irrigate in off-peak times, but now we can irrigate when it’s best for the crops and for us.”
Anne Dansey from AgVic will speak about combining solar and farming on the same parcel of land.
AgVic has installed a number of solar panels above a pear orchard to test the impact on the trees, with early results indicating reduced fruit damage by sunburn and improved water use efficiency.
For information on the renewable energy workshop program, visit: https://www.icid2022.com.au/renewable-energy-workshop/
