Australian farmers can counter tariff hikes with renewables partnerships

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The cost of power for farmers has been driven up by high network charges, with farmers in New South Wales facing a 300% increase in electricity tariffs between 2009-2013. Credit: AECOM

Farmers in Australia are bearing the brunt of electricity price fluctuations, but they may benefit from partnering with renewables companies, according to Jacqueline Knowles, manager of natural resources policy with the National Farmers' Federation.

The cost of power for farmers has been driven up by high network charges, with farmers in New South Wales facing a 300% increase in electricity tariffs between 2009-2013, said Knowles. As a result, farmers have called for reform to the National Energy Market.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Knowles added: “Dedicated tariffs that suit the unique nature of farm energy usage, reliability standards and transparent price setting need to be part of the conversation for reform.”

She said there are “clear opportunities” for farmers to diversify their income by partnering with renewable energy firms looking to build wind or solar farms.

However Knowles added: “It’s important that energy policy and climate policy is integrated – and that as a nation we take the lowest cost pathway to delivering our emissions reduction goals. Piecemeal changes to policies – without consideration of how they interact – is not acceptable for the farm sector.

“More often than not, farmers bear the costs of a price squeeze between the rising cost of production and our competitiveness in domestic and international markets.”

Regarding last week’s national debate over what was causing the extreme electricity price hikes in South Australia, Knowles acknowledged the impact of the cold snap and the maintenance of an interconnector instead of blaming the integration of renewables.

Read Next

Premium
August 7, 2025
July 2025, the peak of the Australian winter season, saw generation from utility-scale and rooftop solar increase by 12.78% year-on-year in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
August 4, 2025
Australia’s Productivity Commission said the country should phase out subsidies for renewables and replace them with market-based incentives.
August 1, 2025
Western Australia network operator Western Power has confirmed it has granted two more network connection offers to two new large-scale renewable energy projects, bringing its total for 2024/25 to 759MW.
August 1, 2025
Dutch pension fund APG has agreed to provide Octopus Australia with AU$1 billion to support its solar, wind, and BESS portfolio.
July 31, 2025
Lucy Nation has said bp paid the price for proceeding “too quickly,” resulting in its exit from the 26GW AREH project in Pilbara.
July 28, 2025
Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced it has invested a record AU$4.7 billion (US$3.09 billion) in large-scale renewables, energy storage, and transmission projects during the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines