Modern agriculture requires a lot of energy and, with the rising power prices, growers have seen their electricity bills soar, affecting their profits. Consequently, an increasing number of agribusinesses have decided to go solar.
See how you too can turn your roof into revenue:
1. Government incentives
The solar industry benefits from a government incentive called the ‘Renewable Energy Target’ (RET). Businesses with solar power receive Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs) for systems up to 100 kW or Large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) for 100 kW systems and over. Like shares, these certificates have a trading value. Most users exchange their STCs for an upfront discount on their system from their solar provider. LGCs, though, are issued for every 1 MWh of power generated by your PV system and are accrued. You can then trade them and generate revenue for your business.
Depending on your State Government, your energy retailer and your system’s size, you may also receive a Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for the power you have produced but not consumed. For instance, if you are based in Victoria and have less than 100 kW of solar panels, you might collect 11.3 cents for each kilowatt hour of electricity you feed back to the grid.
Solargain will help you find out what incentives you are eligible for and design your solar power system to ensure maximum savings.
2. Optimisation
Solar power technology is constantly evolving: PV systems generate more power, last longer, and offer more options including yield monitoring. In addition, new products such as micro-inverters and panel optimizers have emerged. Solargain will provide you with a thorough analysis of your roof space (pitch, area, shading, etc.) and offer you the most suitable and cost-effective solution for your business so you can switch to solar power earlier and start economising more quickly.
3. Storage
Solar panels only generate electricity during sunshine hours, which means the power you use at night is sourced from the grid and charged to you by your energy retailer. Batteries enable you to store the excess energy you’ve produced during the day and save it for later. This way, you don’t waste any of your sun power and you use less grid electricity (if not none at all). While the economics of batteries for business use don’t quite make sense today, as technology improves and prices come down in the near term, it will be an option very worth considering in coming years.