Australian retailer AGL Energy will deliver a 9.2MWp solar-plus-storage microgrid for Koompartu Farms in South Australia’s Riverland, in a project described as “one of the largest privately owned non-mining microgrids in Australia”.
The system will span 15 hectares at the Koompartu property near Monash, approximately 10km north-west of Berri, and will be built to meet the farm’s 6.7MW of energy demand.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
It will include a 9.2MWp single-axis tracking solar array with more than 15,600 modules, a 10.2MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) featuring four 2.55MWh units, 16 diesel backup generators and 19km of underground high-voltage power lines.
Koompartu Farms is South Australia’s largest almond orchard and one of the largest in the country.
The project will connect to the SA Power Networks distribution network at 11kV, with solar generation augmenting grid supply when network capacity falls short of the site’s peak demand.
The microgrid will be delivered for RRG Capital Management, a US-based private equity fund that began developing its South Australian almond investments in 2023 across more than 2,500 hectares of plantings.
AGL has structured the project as a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) under which it builds, owns, operates and maintains the assets and supplies power to Koompartu Farms, leaving the orchard’s management team free to focus on agricultural operations rather than energy infrastructure.
AGL general manager of sustainable business energy solutions, Brendan Weinart, said the project illustrates how tailored microgrid solutions can address the energy reliability demands of large-scale agribusiness.
“This is a first-of-its-kind project and has been designed to improve local grid capacity and provide the reliability needed to keep critical irrigation systems operating,” Weinart said.
“With diesel genset usage expected to fall by 88%, the project shows the role tailored microgrid solutions can play in helping businesses reduce emissions and improve resilience.”
The Koompartu project is the largest in a series of agricultural microgrid developments AGL has delivered in South Australia and New South Wales (NSW).
In May 2024, AGL completed a 4.8MW solar and 4.2MWh battery microgrid at Cadell Orchards in the NSW Riverina for Australian Farming Services, reducing diesel dependence by 85% and cutting the orchard’s carbon emissions by up to 4,700 tonnes annually.
AGL also developed a 6.5MW solar and 5.1MWh battery storage system at the nearby Canally Almond Orchard under the same long-term PPA model.
The Koompartu system is considerably larger than those earlier projects, and the 19km underground high-voltage network across the 9,340-hectare property reflects the infrastructure complexity required to power a site of that scale from a distributed generation source.
Electrical substation work was carried out by TGOOD Australia, which supplied 11 interconnected substation kiosks with unique configurations to manage load flow across the site.
