Farmers say Victorian regulations are restricting practical renewable energy microgrids
Sandra Jefford and her husband, Wilco Droppert, milk about 380 cows on their farm in Clydebank in Victoria's Gippsland region.
But they are keen to produce more than just dairy, installing $1 million in renewable energy infrastructure on their property over the past four years.
"At every afternoon milking, we're putting 200 kilowatts of power into the grid from our two solar panel sites," Ms Jefford said.
In 2011 the couple moved from a high rainfall area to central Gippsland where they needed to use more irrigation water for their pasture.
"From 2016 until early 2020 the rain just about stopped and our energy costs from pumping water were just ridiculous," Ms Jefford said.
One option was to establish a self-sufficient energy system known as a controlled microgrid.
"They make renewable energy much more viable on farms because we can't justify putting solar panels at every site where we use grid power," she said.
Ms Jefford said installing a microgrid made economic sense.
"At the moment we're buying power for 35 cents per kilowatt hour, but get paid four cents for the power we put back into the grid," she said.
"So what we want to do is use existing energy poles and the wires to send the power from this solar site to the dairy."
Current Victorian government regulations limit the sharing of generated power between properties.
Senior climate and energy advisor with Environment Victoria, Kat Lucas-Healey, said Victoria had a "one property title, one metre model".
"So if a farmer wants to send power across multiple property titles, the retailers and networks consider them as separate customers," she said.
Ms Lucas-Healey said it was holding producers back.
"The rules are simply not keeping up."
Angus Zilm is a beef producer from Llowalong, about 30 kilometres north-west of Clydebank, who also wants to set up a microgrid.
"We're in the process of putting in a 50-kilowatt solar system but can't actually send that solar power across different titles," he said.
Mr Zilm said he wants to see change.
"It's a major issue for producers across Victoria, so the legislation should encourage, and at least permit, microgrids on farms," he said.
Ms Jefford agreed that the current legislation was outdated.
"A century ago, farms were much smaller, but over time they've grown larger as we've managed to buy adjacent titles, each with their own bores and pumps," she said.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Brett Hosking said renewable energy remained a fraught topic across the state.
"There's a lot of focus on this broad rollout of transmission lines, wind turbines and solar farms," he said.
Mr Hosking said the government should get on board with microgrids.
"When the energy is being generated and used within the one business it shouldn't be that complicated," he said.
The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) said electricity distributors are bound by the National Electricity Rules and enforced by the Australian Energy Regulator, which prevents them from crediting excess generation between titles.
Retailers, however, are able to facilitate such arrangements and DEECA said it continues to work at a national level to explore ways of maximising the benefits of distributed energy resources like solar.
DEECA said it supported trials through the Australian Energy Regulator "to test innovative solutions that further support energy sharing across titles, helping to inform future reforms".
But according to Victoria Energy Policy Centre director Professor Bruce Mountain the buck does stop with the state government.
"Formally the Australian Energy Regulator regulates retailers while the Essential Services Commission oversees retail electricity trading arrangements," he said.
"But in reality, the Victorian government acts on their behalf to authorise or hinder projects like microgrids."
Professor Mountain said it could be an uphill battle for individual farmers.
For Ms Jefford, she will continue the battle as she is committed to renewables.
"We're farming for the future," she said.
"We've made a major investment in renewable energy so I believe we should get the best value out of it."
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