Rising power prices have forced Tasmanian farmers to spend to save.
Key points:
- Climbing power bills are leading Tasmanian farmers into adapting their practices
- Farmers are increasingly embracing renewable energy to avoid rising power bills
- High costs and lower livestock prices are forcing change
Tech-savvy Central Highlands farmer Will Bowden, has spent up on energy saving measures, including his own hydro-electric station on farm.
"We produce around 800 megawatts a year and we're consuming currently 600, so we're generating more electricity than we're consuming," Mr Bowden said.
He also employs other power-saving techniques including variable power used on irrigators, depending where they're watering the land.
Smart farming
Moisture probes are used to make sure there's no unnecessary pumping and he's got automated pressure sensors on the irrigators.
According to the fifth-generation farmer, all these measures have been perfect over the past six months where low rainfall and nasty frosts, have sucked much of the moisture out of the land.
But Mr Bowden said the state government could play an expanded role by offsetting power produced on farms with the power they consumed.
He said incentives were needed to encourage more farmers to invest in renewables.
"Electricity is costing us a hell of a lot more than we're earning from the feed-in tariffs — we can only sell power into the grid to Aurora at the feed-in tariff.
"it's currently around 10 cents a kilowatt, on average ... and we're paying 30 cents a kilowatt, so there's a massive price difference there."
Aurora Energy has defended its feed-in tariff, saying it was determined by the Independent Tasmanian Economic regulator each financial year.
It increased by 22.4 per cent to 10.869 cents per kilowatt on July 1.
Perfect storm
A few kilometres up the road, Russell Fowler has been reworking his farming systems to cope with rising input costs and the falling price of lamb.
Over the past few years he has completely revamped the farm's irrigation with new automated pivot systems and a dam to supplement water usage.
"With the system we've put in place, we put a lower water channel in so we don't have to pump as high. When we do, it's dam-filled, so it's lowering those costs by making it more efficient," he said.
He has also made changes to his cropping and livestock.
"We've gone from a high poppy-based system to carrots and hopefully we're going to look at potatoes this year," he said.
"And our [lamb] finishing operation, we're cutting that back due to the lamb prices, and trying to get best value under those pivots as we can."
Change pays dividends
In the north-west, fruit and vegetable farmer Marcus Brandsema is thankful he put solar panels on his farm to offset some of the pain of rising power prices.
"About five or six years ago, we put some solar on our packhouse, about 30 kilowatts and then when we saw how that was affecting the economics of it, and that it did, in fact stack up we put another 30 kilowatts of solar on our roof,"
"It's paid greater dividends now," he said
The tomato farmer's power bill still topped $45,000 this past financial year, almost double the year before.
"Electricity has gone up, and it is a little bit scary, but what is scarier is the fact that it's added on to everything else.
"We are looking at putting up our prices. We were reluctant to do that ... but at the same time, if we don't, we will become unviable as business."
Stressful times
Down the road, dairy and vegetable farmer, Matt Ryan has also been looking into renewables to negate his rising power bills.
"We have quite a lot of connections and it ranges from pumps to the dairy, chicken sheds and workshops and things like that," he said.
"Our annual spend, has been somewhere around about …160 to 180,000 [dollars]."
He said his electricity contract was due to end soon and he would start negotiations on a new one.
Bill shock anticipated
"We're expecting it could be … about 40 per cent up," he added.
He said Tasmanians were unfairly caught up in high power prices, even though the state had lots of power.
Mr Ryan said the Tasmanian government should uncouple from the mainland power grid.
"The electricity that's produced in Tasmania was invested in many years ago … and it's been developed and paid for by Tasmanians and the Tasmanian community."
Energy Minister, Guy Barnett says Tasmania was a net importer of energy from mainland Australia during the 2020-21 financial year, with demand exceeding supply.
He added that for this reason, being part of the National Electricity Market (NEM) is important for our energy security.
"We can import the mainland’s cheap wind and solar power and export electricity when prices are high."
He said there were schemes offering low interest or no interest loans for energy efficiency projects.
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