On-farm energy usage is a significant cost for many primary producers across Queensland, particularly in intensive agricultural operations.
For more than a decade the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) have been supporting farmers across the state to better manage their on-farm energy usage through programs, written resources and other support services.
The most recent of these programs was Energy Southern Queensland (EnergySQ) which was delivered in partnership with ACCIONA Energia between April 2023 and April 2025. Over the two years the program was active, EnergySQ engaged 87 farms to enhance their energy productivity across the program’s six eligible local government areas of Southern Downs, Western Downs, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, Lockyer Valley, and the Scenic Rim.
Participating farms represented the region’s wide range of agricultural industries including wineries, dairies, nurseries and horticulture, cotton, livestock, and grain farms.
Across the program more than 269 practical, data-driven recommendations were provided to the participating farmers, ranging from solar photovoltaic considerations and irrigation upgrades to battery storage, and tariff choices.
Throughout the course of the program these recommendations were shared on the QFF developed and Queensland Government funded Queensland Ag Energy Hub website to help the broader Queensland agriculture sector benefit from the program’s learnings. Visit QldAgEnergyHub.com to access these resources and learn more.
If all of the recommendations provided were implemented across the participating farms, the combined savings could significantly reduce the amount spent on on-farm energy, including a reduction of over 2 million kWh of electricity per year – the equivalence of the annual consumption of 358 regional Queensland households and around 223,000 litres of diesel fuel – the equivalence of the fuel consumed driving 1.76 million kilometres in a dual cab diesel ute.
The program’s success in identifying energy savings reflects a need for greater energy literacy support to ensure more Queensland farmers can reduce energy costs and increase energy resilience while improving their farm’s overall productivity and profitability.
Energy efficiency and reliability continues to be very important for farmers across the state and we must keep working to achieve energy security for future farmers. Government has a key role to play when it comes to policy settings, industry support and investment attraction. QFF was pleased to be involved in Queensland Government roundtable discussions in relation to energy and biofuels this month.
Farmers who wish to learn more about on-farm energy efficiency, tariff options, emerging energy technologies and related topics are encouraged to contact QFF’s Energy Information Service for Landholders (EISL) on 07 3329 7500 or by visiting https://www.qff.org.au/projects/eisl/.
EISL is a free phone service for farmers and landholders in Queensland. The service is available Monday – Friday from 8:30am – 5pm and can assist by providing information and guidance on a range of energy matters.