IT IS a concept Kelvin Griffin was not sure was even possible – but now the cane farmer in Bargara is using solar to run his high pressure travelling irrigators.
Mr Griffin said electricity prices were making it very difficult to run any sort of farm, and he knew he needed to do something about it sooner rather than later.
On the 80 hectare farm, Mr Griffin said about 25 hectares will be under the solar irrigators, with the rest able to be floor irrigated.
“We have decided to see if we could run high pressure travelling irrigators off solar power, and it’s a little bit different to not getting up in the night time - now it is in the day time, and with the stop start on the pump, because if cloud comes over it stops, and then you look around and it will be going again,” he said.
“It (electricity) is just cost prohibitive. I see it around here, back of the house in fact, you used to see irrigators and everything going all the time, but for the past five years you can count them on less than two hands, before that you’d see anywhere between 30 and 40 irrigators working.
“So we are just looking at ways to be sustainable into the future. And the main thing is you hope to be able to add a battery pack on it in the not-so-distant future, so we can get a three-to-four hour window each side of the sun morning and afternoon.”
Mr Griffin said he joined forced with Gem Energy, based in Emerald, to see if they could run the high pressure pumps off solar alone – and he said it was a challenge.
“There’s plenty of stuff on just low pressure pumps and all of that sort of thing, but not with the high pressure pumps,” he said.
“I’ve had lots of interest from other growers, and a lot of interest from all around Australia.
“There’s been probably two or three phone calls a week, plus a lot through the Canegrowers office in town.”
The solar panels went in just over two months ago, and Mr Griffin said he is treating them like any other machinery investment.
“There’s been a few sleepless nights, wondering if you’ve done the right thing, you seem to think ‘well, it wouldn’t be the first decision that you’ve made that would be a bad one’,” he laughed.
“But I don’t think this will bad. Because electricity prices will just keep on rising.
“We believe that it will pay for itself in about six years, that’s our plan.
“Instead of paying into Ergon, well in another five years it will be profit to us - well that’s the plan.”
You used to see irrigators and everything going all the time, but for the past five years you can count them on less than two hands.
- Kelvin Griffin
