INDUSTRY NEWS
Sunraysia solar solution
A SUNRAYSIA almond and citrus grower is looking forward having more control of his electricity bills in 2024 . Darren Minter from Iraak has installed 799 kilowatts of solar panels to run seven irrigation pump sites and his packing sheds . While many growers are using renewable energy on their farms , Mr Minter said the funding model he chose , Environmental Upgrade Finance , had a number of benefits . “ Through this arrangement with Sustainable Australia Fund , Better Building Finance and Mildura Rural City Council , this investment in our property doesn ’ t impact our debt / asset ratio ,” he said . Environmental Upgrade Finance , stopped being offered to new customers in December 2023 , but it was different to bank loans . Mr Minter entered into an agreement with both the lender and his local council . The loan is then repaid through his council rates . No collateral was needed to obtain the loan . The loan is tied to the property so it can be transferred to a new owner if the farm is sold . “ Power bills are going through the roof , I ’ ve got cost control over my power , so I know how much it ’ s going to cost me because it ’ s a set price .” As a result of the cost savings the solar panels will generate , Mr Minter said he ’ ll be able to irrigate at the more optimum times of the day and produce better quality almonds and citrus . “ We ’ ll go from pumping all night to pumping during the day , drip is better off during the day when the plant is needing the water , it ’ s getting delivered to the root system ,” he said . When the solar power generated from the property isn ’ t being used Mr Minter can send it into the electricity grid . “ It will obviously also generate environmental benefits by putting a significant dent in the emissions we ’ re generating ," he said . The new solar panels aren ’ t the only sustainability measures that Mr Minter has made to his farm recently . He ’ s also spot spraying weeds with an Optispot 7 developed by Rometron Australia , using WEED-IT technology . The 12 sensors detect active
ABOVE : Darren Minter with his new solar panels . BELOW : Darren and Gary Minter with their Optispot 7 .
chlorophyll and only spray weeds . This means that chemicals aren ’ t wasted on weed free soil . “ It surprised me actually . We ’ re spraying 50 % further and the weeds are bad ,” Mr Minter said . Weed detection and spraying spans the whole row at widths up to 7.3m . Rometron Australia ’ s general manager Hamish McIntosh said horticulture producers can expect to save up to 90 per cent on chemical costs . “ With rising chemical costs , restrictions on their availability , chemical resistant weeds , MRL considerations and the environmental benefits of reduced chemical usage the Optispot 7 provides a solution for these challenges and saves money ,” he said . A Silvan spray cart was also delivered before Christmas and it has been fitted with SmartApply technology , which delivers precision spraying , data capture and analytics . LiDAR senses the presence of trees / vines , adjusting spray volume based on size and density of individual plants to optimise protection and avoid over spraying . By reducing chemical use there ’ s also less trips to mix chemicals and refill sprayers , creating labour and time savings . Mr Minter compared its performance to a conventional spray cart in 18 month plantings and was impressed with the result . “ The conventional 4,000 litre spray cart would be empty after one and a half hours but the SmartApply lasted for six hours ,” he said . “ It ’ s looking very good in young plantings and we still think it will be very good in older plantings .”
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