With energy making up a significant proportion of agricultural input costs, the monthly power bill looms large for many farmers.
But smart technologies are emerging as a powerful solution for the sector, helping farmers maximise their energy investment, have more control over their electricity usage, and diversify their income stream.
Momentum Energy's Head of Energy Solutions, Cam Taylor, says farmers are heavy energy users and many have made significant investments in infrastructure like batteries and solar panels, as well as energy efficiency, to ensure constant supply and reduce their power bills.
"As energy and other input prices continue to trend upwards, helping farmers maximise those energy investments is going to be increasingly important."
He says new network tools like Virtual Power Plants give farmers the chance to manage their power costs and earn financial rewards for supporting the grid, making the most of their investment in solar and batteries.
A Virtual Power Plant is a network of energy assets that can be remotely controlled and can include batteries, generators, or controllable loads like refrigeration systems and irrigation pumps, making them especially valuable in horticultural, viticultural and dairy operations.
"Essentially these assets pool their capacity so they can optimise a customer's energy use and help balance supply and demand in the grid when it's needed."
At an individual farm level, assets are managed remotely by the VPP provider via smart technology in accordance with operating parameters set by the farmer to ensure core farm operations always come first.
"Take a dairy farm, for example. It uses large amounts of energy for short windows each day — cooling vats, milking, pumping water," Cam said.
"Many also have a generator or batteries, and by connecting these assets to the grid through a Virtual Power Plant, without compromising core operations, farmers can unlock opportunities to earn revenue.
"Importantly, each business can benefit from the energy assets being managed by the VPP provider to buy, store or dispatch power at the right time, making their energy assets work hard to support the farm's bottom line.
Cam says Virtual Power Plants' ability to respond to supply and demand in the electricity grid is becoming even more important as more intermittent power sources like solar and wind come online.
In a similar vein, agricultural businesses with multiple sites can make the most of their investment in solar systems by sharing the benefit of their power between properties. Momentum's Virtual Solar Sharing allows businesses to use excess solar power generation from one site to help offset the cost of buying electricity at another site, provided the energy is consumed at the same time its generated.
"Virtual Solar Sharing provides a higher return option than selling excess solar power back to the grid, and it allows farmers to make full use of a property with good solar potential to benefit their whole business."
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About Momentum Energy: Momentum Energy is 100 per cent owned by Hydro Tasmania, Australia's largest generator of renewable energy. Momentum Energy supports the shift to renewables by being a trusted partner to businesses and households looking to decarbonise.
