How farmers are using renewables as energy prices grow

Renewables in Ag Conference founder Karin Stark, who lives in Narromine, said there was generally a renewable solution to fit the needs of every farm, including outside-the-box ideas such as bioenergy and hydrogen.

"People are starting to consider what they can do to reduce their inputs," Ms Stark said.

"With the cost of solar and battery coming down significantly, there's an even stronger economic business case to use renewables on farms."

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Although there has been a good uptake of renewable energy within agriculture, Ms Stark said it's "not as quick as it should be".

"Part of that is a lack of working examples," she said.

"Farmers look over the fence to see what they should do the following year, but we don't have enough examples - which is why we started the Renewables in Ag Conference."

Paul Squires, a wine maker near Bundalong on the NSW-Victorian border hosts a 100kw solar system that tracks the sun on his property and has an agreement with a power company to get some power for free, with discounted power the rest of the time.

Mr Squire runs his house, winery, cellar door and restaurant all on solar, and has reduced his power bill by 80pc.

"The power the system makes goes back to people who own the system and in return for using our land, we get free power - and I can purchase the system out right anytime," Mr Squire said.

"It only takes up a quarter-acre. Most farms have that sort of spare land that they're not doing anything with."

Mr Squire said the main motivation for the solar system was taking control of his base costs.

"If you look at it from a money point of view, [fossil fuel] electricity is 28 to 32 cents a kilowatt hour - solar is around 12," he said.

"We know within $50 what our power bill is going to be for the month, and that hasn't moved for a couple of years.

"Supplementing your energy supply is just good business. In agriculture, we're continuously using electricity, and if renewables aren't part of that, you're just wasting money."

Mr Squires said once he crunched the numbers the decision was a "no-brainer", but encouraged other farmers investigating renewable systems to treat it the same as buying a new tractor.

"Understand what you'll use it for, how often you'll use it, the warrants and payback period on asset, then ask as many other farmers you know how it works and if it has been produced as advertised," he said.

Fellow winemaker Justin Jarrett, based in Orange, NSW has reduced his power bill by between 80 and 90 per cent with the help of solar energy.

Mr Jarrett was paying $32,000 per year in power bills and now pays between around $6000 to $4000, after installing a 10-kilowatt system on each of his three farms.

The financial benefits were only part of the equation. Mr Jarrett said the winery was on a journey to become more sustainable and reduce its carbon footprint, with the goal of being carbon positive by 2030.

"It's made us think and concentrate on that part of business that is often forgotten," he said.

"Whether it be electricity, gas or diesel, generally farmers will budget a certain amount, but they treat it as a line item and write it off without looking at it.

"Once we sat down and went through it, we saw how many kilowatts we were using and wanted to reduce that."

The Renewables in Ag Conference will be held in Albury on August 18. For more info visit renewablesinagconference.com.au.