Solar Power for Dairy and Sheep Farms
The Dairy industry requires a lot of hot water for public health reasons; as well as power to run automated milking sheds. Solar PV is a great way to supply energy needs. Because agriculture gets cheaper rates for power the tarrifs paid for excess production are about the same as the farmer pays. This means it makes sense to have a large system without a requirement for battery storage, because excess power production is paid well.
Most dairy sheds have plenty of roof space to mount systems in the size of 10 - 50 kWh. Average payback times are usually around 5 years, making your farm more productive by reducing power costs and adding value to the farm. In the long run farmers have their own power plant producing decades of free power.
Additional uses for solar can be for pumping water, irrigation and running shearing sheds; or industrial level refrigeration.
