Utilising environmental upgrade agreements to drive investment in solar farming

20 February 2018
Focus area: Energy
Program stream: Sustainability
Project number: 2017-1123
This initial feasibility and cost/benefit analysis confirmed that a microgrid ancillary/emergency solar PV system and battery storage can provide a cost-effective risk management solution to electrical services for an Australian red meat processing plant. 

In particular, the system can be constructed to provide:

•    A project which has an estimated pay-back period of 5.7 years and which is also expected to be cash flow positive from year 1
•    Load shedding technology/battery storage/operational interface controls which allows the microgrid system to provide emergency power on an uninterrupted basis for an extended period during daylight hours (presently undeveloped in commercial operations) should a major external grid failure occur
•    Economic benefits from solar energy, even in a location with low temperatures and long periods of cloud cover
•    Site integration with Hardwick’s electrical network to allow energy management and energy usage control
•    Benefits from integrated grazing management for stock grazing and shading under solar arrays.
Previous in this focus area 15 September 2023 Feasibility study for a refuse derived fuel created from paunch, biosolids and construction and demolition waste Next in this focus area 29 November 2017 Utilization of microalgae to purify waste streams and production of value added products