FARMING
FOREVER
Australians are farming with renewables and transmission lines on their land right now.
Brent
Merino and Wind Farmer, Darling Downs, QLD
A former National Farmers Federation President, Brent’s been farming for most of his life. He’s always run beef cattle and sheep, and now hosts wind turbines to help drought-proof his income.
Farmers continue farming while getting extra income from renewable energy
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Farmers hosting large scale renewables are making as much as $1,500 per hectare per year for solar farms, or $40,000 per wind turbine per year. This drought-proof income supplements their ongoing farming income, with sheep and cattle continuing to graze under solar panels and around wind turbines.
Andrew
Grazier and Solar Farmer, Darling Downs, QLD
Andrew’s a fifth-generation farmer in Queensland, continuing the family tradition running beef cattle and sheep. He added solar to guarantee his farm into the future, and now it’s nearly a third of his income.
Some clean energy projects are providing discounts on home energy bills
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Some clean energy projects in Australia are providing discounts on energy bills for households and businesses located nearby. The Golden Plains Wind Farm in Rokewood, Victoria is offering bill credits of $133/month to neighbours living within 3km of a wind turbine. Another energy company, ENGIE, has announced that it will offer $1000 in annual electricity rebates to people living near its future projects, including people living within 20km of the proposed The Plains Renewable Energy Park at Hay, NSW.
Susan
Grain Grower and Wind Farmer, Western VIC
Susan and her husband produce sustainable cereals, legumes, oilseeds and fodder. They host dozens of wind turbines and some transmission lines on their farm, where it’s “business as usual”.
Communities hosting renewables can benefit from local investment funds
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Many clean energy companies have established community benefit funds, or made contributions to funds set up by local and state governments, to support local initiatives and improve local infrastructure and services. In NSW, companies operating in Renewable Energy Zones must make a contribution of $1,700 per megawatt per year to a local community benefit fund, and a further $600 per megawatt per year towards local workforce and employment-related initiatives. $70m of grants have been launched in the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, and other community funds like this, are becoming more common.
Brett
Grain Grower, Northern VIC
Brett’s a fifth-generation farmer and former Vice President of the Victorian Farmers Federation. He supports renewables and upgrading the grid, but says getting it right begins with listening to farmers and regional communities.
Clean energy and storage is the cheapest way to bring new energy into the grid
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Most of Australia’s coal fired power plants were built last century and are nearing the end of their working lives. As these coal plants age they become less reliable, break down or go offline for maintenance, and are more expensive to maintain. The most recent Integrated Systems Plan, published by the Australian Energy Market Operator, expects all of Australia’s coal-fired power plants to retire by 2038. AEMO says that “renewable energy, connected by transmission and distribution, firmed with storage and backed up by gas-powered generation, is the lowest-cost way to supply electricity to homes and businesses,” backing up similar findings in the CSIRO’s GenCost report.
Australia has a natural competitive advantage: the best wind and sun in the world
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Australia is one of the largest and sunniest countries in the world, creating huge opportunities for solar power. On sunny days solar power alone can meet more than 50% of demand across the National Electricity Market (NEM), while in South Australia rooftop solar alone has exceeded state-wide demand on multiple occasions. The size and geographic diversity of the National Electricity Market, which stretches from Tasmania to North Queensland, means that the wind is always blowing somewhere on the NEM. And the increasing availability and plummeting price of battery storage is making it easier to store excess solar and wind power for times when conditions aren’t as favourable.
Continuing to farm sheep under solar panels can improve wool quality
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Sheep grazing among solar panels is now a common sight on many of Australia’s solar farms. This is no accident: farmers have found that the solar panels help keep sheep healthy and improve the quality of their wool. The shade provided by solar panels helps keep sheep cool on sunny days and supports more consistent grass growth, while condensation dripping off the panels provides an additional source of moisture. Studies are now underway looking to prove what farmers have already observed - combining sheep and solar can make for better quality wool while also making farms more financially resilient.
Australia’s electricity grid is already powered by 40% clean energy
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Renewable sources like solar, wind and hydro accounted for 39% of the National Electricity Market in 2023, and the Clean Energy Regulator expects this to increase to 42% in 2024. The share of renewables is highest in Tasmania (99%) and South Australia (75%), and lowest in Queensland (27%).
Renewables need barely any water compared to fossil fuels
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Unlike coal and gas power stations, wind turbines and solar panels do not rely on a constant supply of water to be able to produce electricity. This means they can be situated away from water sources, and operate without redirecting water away from irrigation or regional towns. While manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels does use some water, analysis from Boston University finds that renewables still come out ahead. Wind energy uses around 279L of water per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity produced, while solar uses 446L per MWh. This compares with 847L per MWh for gas-fired electricity, 2,103L per MWh for nuclear, and 2,325L per MWh for coal.
Almost 40% of Australian houses are generating cheap rooftop solar
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Australia has been a global leader in rooftop solar since the technology was invented by Australian researchers in the 1980s. Today, more than 39% of Australian houses have rooftop solar, including more than half of all houses in Queensland and South Australia. In 2023 rooftop solar provided 11.2% of all electricity generated in Australia.
The average price of rooftop solar in Australia - around $1 per watt of installed capacity, and 3 cents per kilowatt hour generated - which makes Australian solar one of the cheapest sources of power in the world.