How can you contribute to the dairy business in Australia while still making money? The solution is right in front of you. John and Rochelle Pekin switched to solar batteries from a flimsy grid and an offensive backup diesel generator. Diesel, farewell. Hello, batteries and solar.
Energy Renaissance, forerunners in the design and production of Australian lithium battery technology, will use a 520 kWh Renaissance superRack battery to power their 450-hectare property in Simpson, Victoria, which will be recharged every day by a 250 kW rooftop solar system.
The new solar and battery system will reduce Nikep Dairy Farms’ reliance on grid electricity by up to 95%, and it is anticipated to lower their energy and fuel bills by $70,000 annually, according to Nick dAvoine, General Manager of Farming the Sky ( Commpower Industrial) ), whose business installed the Energy Renaissance batteries.
The farm, which had 950 cows, had to uncomfortably rely on erratic grid electricity and diesel to run its operations for milking, cooling milk, and effluent management. The Nikep Dairy Farm is now nearly totally powered by renewable sources thanks to the solar battery system. The dairy farm has won the Dairy Australia Great Southwest Dairy Awards’ Natural Resource and Sustainability Management Award as a result.
Fourth-generation dairy farmers John and Rochelle Pekin, who operate the business, explained that because the industry requires a lot of energy, reliance on grid electricity left them vulnerable to rising electricity prices that would hurt their bottom line. Having batteries also gives us energy security because we know we can keep running even if the grid goes down. The batteries also enable us to continue milking our cows twice daily. For us as dairy farmers, investing in sustainable energy goes beyond purely financial factors. Because our farm is becoming more environmentally friendly and sustainable, we want to encourage people to take action right away.
By selling milk to processors who reward low-carbon producers with better pricing and opening up new options by selling carbon credits produced by Farming the Sky solutions, the Nikep Dairy Farm is currently moving in the direction of becoming carbon-neutral.
With the On-Farm Action Plan program, which offers grants to farmers to invest in technology to reduce their carbon emissions, including renewable energy, Nick dAvoine continued: “The Victorian Government is leading the way.” As a result, dairy farmers like the Nikeps will be able to provide milk that is more economically and environmentally sustainable and has a less carbon footprint.
Energy Renaissance’s founder, Brian Craighead, expressed his happiness that Nikep Dairy Farm had decided to install our Australian superRack batteries. We spent years developing our batteries for demanding conditions like this in collaboration with CSIRO, and it’s wonderful to see all that work pay off in the form of cheaper costs, lower emissions, and a more sustainable business.
For this farm, the sky is the limit, and that’s not a lie!
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