AG RENEWABLES TAKE CENTRE STAGE
DUBBO is set to host the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo on May 19.
Organiser and Narromine farmer Karin Stark believes increasing energy costs and the impacts of climate change are reducing the sustainability and competitiveness of some farm businesses across Australia.
She says the event is all about creating change and ensure regional Australians are part of the renewable energy transition.
“Renewable energy is a practical way for farmers to significantly reduce their costs, reduce their exposure to energy price fluctuations and build business resilience,” Ms Stark told Dubbo Photo News.
“The conference is designed to overcome the known barriers to the uptake of renewable energy by farmers. There is a gap in the knowledge and understanding of what renewable energy solutions work for what farming operations plus there is a general lack of trust in solar suppliers, which constrains investment.”
She said a key part of the conference is the expo, where credible suppliers, are available to speak with farmers about opportunities on their farm.
“It’s important for farmers to be able to get together and share their stories and also their challenges and mistakes so that others can learn from them,” she said.
“We have a very strong line up of speakers this year, including a Victorian organic broccoli grower using solar for irrigation, a piggery owner in Young NSW, producing enough energy from waste that she sells to the grid, a winery using tracking solar panels and looking to grow spuds under the panels and a Manildra farmer who built a 46MW solar farm and continues to graze his sheep on the land.”
Dubbo is at the centre of New South Wales’ first Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), where farmers able to host solar and wind farms can earn a significant guaranteed secondary income for the life of the project.
Andrew Lang is a farmer, bioenergy consultant and president of the Victorian Bioenergy Network – he’ll be speaking at the conference on topics like how straw, which he says is often under-valued, can be used to produce energy (power, heat and
transport fuels, plus to produce biogas/biomethane) and potentially also for the production of biochemicals to replace industrial petrochemicals.
“Many farmers I have visited in Europe are actually energy farmers as well as producers of food and fibre,” Mr Lang said.
“As Australia is so far behind in its development of this sector, if we take the right steps now, there’s a huge future potential to grow our bioenergy output.”
In Victoria he’s helping a group of farmers near Ballarat who have been working on viable options for the use of straw as an alternative to burning, in the paddock.
“They have about 50,000 tonnes/year among the group just from baled up windrowed straw behind the headers and easily another 150,000 tonnes in the immediate district,” he said.
“In Denmark this would be
enough to fuel a 30 Megawatt (electrical output) combined heat and power plant.”
It’s the second time an event like this has been run in Australia, providing a platform for farmers to share stories of what they have done with on-farm renewables and will create a learning environment for other groups such as peak bodies, Government reps and agriculture and energy consultants.
The conference has the support of groups such as NSW Farmers, National Farmers Federation, National Irrigators Council, Department for Primary Industries, Clean Energy Council and Farmers for Climate Action.
The Conference is taking place in Dubbo on the May 19, with tickets between $175 and $220, available through: