As the Energy Savers Plus Program rolls out audits to a number of farms across Queensland, two of the growers audited by the program have found that energy efficiency has not only cut their energy costs, but may have improved their productivity as well.
One particular citrus farm in Mundubbera that grows, packs, sorts and stores mandarins in cold rooms was recently audited through the Energy Savers Program.
The audit recommended adding variable speed drives to two 45kW submersible pumps to allow greater flexibility in watering, including the ability to water separate blocks at the right pressure without throttling at the outlet. The audit also suggested that a 30kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system would be a suitable size for the operation of the packing shed.
The farmer reduced the size of the two pumps to 37kW, as well as fitting variable speed drives, and installed an 82.8kW solar PV system. He switched one of the pumps from its own network connection to same connection as the packing shed. This allowed him to take advantage of the solar PV for irrigating, therefore increasing efficiency.
The farmer estimates he will recover the costs in less than 5 years, with an energy saving of over 170 megawatt hours per year (170MWh/y) and cost savings of $41,000 per year!
The farmer found it helpful to have the information needed to make informed decisions: “Once I had all the information we went ahead with implementing the recommendations. Before installing our variable speed drives, we had to irrigate all three blocks to get rid of the pressure. Now we can just do one or two as required” he said.
See Mundubbera Citrus case study HERE
Energy Savers Program
The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) is working with its members and Ergon Energy to help farmers reduce energy costs. The Program is funded by the Queensland Government.
The program is designed to support farmers in reducing on-farm energy use that will lower energy costs.
A number of audits are underway, including on-farm processing such as heating, cooling, lighting and irrigation to assist farmers to identify potential savings and provide information on financing options.
The Program is designed to help farmers find the right solution for their needs and to encourage them to make the right investments to improve their bottom line.
More information about the case studies referenced in this article and other case studies from a variety of industries is available on the QFF Energy Savers. General information on on-farm efficiencies is also online.
The audits highlight that it’s worth checking that you are on the right tariff with some audits recommending alternative tariffs to some growers, with good potential cost savings.