The feasibility of using floating photovoltaic (FPV) panels on vineyard dams to simultaneously reduce evaporation losses and create energy is being explored as part of a broader project that is testing the technology in the cotton industry with the support of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.
The $13 million, Australian-first project has secured $6 million in funding through the Federal Government's Future Drought Fund's Resilient Landscapes program, which supports Australian farmers and regional communities to build their drought and climate resilience. It is being led by Ag Econ, a consultancy that specialises in economic evaluations and sustainability research across various agricultural industries. Dr Madeline Taylor, from Macquarie University, is also exploring regulatory pathways to speed up the approvals process for FPV systems and uptake of the technology.
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| From left, Dr Madeline Taylor from Macquarie University, Jon Welsh from Ag Econ, Justin Jarrett from See Saw Wines and Steven Hill from Clear Skies Energy. |
As part of the project, Wine Australia is providing in-kind support for a pilot case study in one of the three vineyards owned by See Saw Wines in Orange - the first of five pilot case studies to be initiated under the project that will be carried out across diverse agricultural sectors.
Jon Welsh, Ag Econ's principal agricultural economist, said evaporation on a vineyard dam could be as much as 50% and potentially more depending on its shape. By placing a FPV system over it, a significant amount of water can be saved by mitigating evaporative loss.
"There is significant potential for the wine sector to reap the benefits of a FPV system given many vineyards rely on surface water for irrigation and a substantial number are near sizeable population centres where the energy generated can not only be used to power irrigation pumps and deliver other on-site energy needs, but also decarbonise product supply chains prior to exporting to the grid," Jon said.
"One of the key things we're aiming to identify is how many solar panels, spacing configurations and tilt are required to maximise water savings," he said. "There's not a one-to-one linear relationship between the evaporative mitigation loss factor and the area of dam covered. For example, studies have shown covering only 29% of a dam surface area can mitigate 50% of evaporative loss."
The FPV system at See Saw Wines will be installed at Annangrove Park – the winery's operational hub at Cargo, about 25km from the Orange township. The 300-hectare property is home to the See Saw office, its 600-tonne winery, and warehouse facilities. Seventy hectares of the property are planted to vines, with the remaining land managed for integrated sheep grazing.
Annangrove Park measures 130 hectares in total and has the largest dam of See Saw Wines' three vineyard properties. It has a surface area of 8.6 hectares and is the primary irrigation source for the vineyard.
"The co-location of our dam, winery and appropriate electrical infrastructure made this the logical choice to demonstrate the viability of FPV systems in vineyard operations," explained See Saw owner Justin Jarrett.
Justin said one of the key environmental benefits that See Saw Wines was seeking from the FPV installation was reducing evaporative water loss which was "particularly important in the context of increasing temperatures and drought pressure in our region".
"This project also represents […] a pathway to become fully carbon positive as a business, moving beyond carbon neutrality to actually sequestering more carbon than we emit.
"The FPV system will also allow us to value-stack our existing assets, transforming our irrigation dam from a single-purpose water storage facility into a dual-purpose renewable energy generator. This aligns with our philosophy of closed-loop farming where every element serves multiple functions.
"Finally, the project has the potential to create an additional revenue stream that enhances farm financial resilience while advancing our environmental objectives," Justin said.
As well as providing an energy source for existing operations, like irrigation pumps and wineries, a FPV system can also provide an energy source for emerging vineyard technologies such as electric tractors and autonomous robots. Maggie Jarrett, See Saw Wines sustainability manager, said utilising vehicles such as these was in their sights.
"Initially, the energy will power our most intensive operations: vineyard irrigation pumping, winery operations (crushing, pressing, pumping), and critical refrigeration for wine storage and temperature-controlled fermentation. These processes currently represent our largest energy demands," Maggie explained, adding that the winery already had three 10kW solar systems installed across its three properties.
"Medium-term, we'll transition our vehicle fleet to electric, using the FPV energy to charge electric utility vehicles, forklifts, and delivery vehicles. We're already investigating electric van and truck options for our operations.:
Maggie Jarrett said the FPV may take up to two years before it is fully operational.
"The timeline largely depends on navigating regulatory approvals and grid connection requirements. In an ideal scenario, with streamlined approvals, the system could be constructed within a few months. However, we're planning realistically for an 18-24 month timeline to account for environmental assessments, council approvals, energy retailer negotiations, and grid connection processes.
"If this pilot proves successful, we expect significant interest from vineyards and wineries with suitable dams, particularly those in regions with high evaporation rates," she said.
