This piece was made in partnership with Farmlands. 

Farmlands FLEX is giving farmers battery-backed solar that keeps the shed running through a power cut, while trimming one of the fastest-rising costs on farm.

Richard Hawke, Key Account Manager for Farmlands, says the design proved itself in last year’s outages, with wind events in the Amuri Basin and South Otago cutting power to a number of farms.

“There were a couple of installations, particularly in South Otago, that were able to continue milking throughout,” he says.

He says that batteries are central to that resilience and to the returns.

“Battery-based is where our founders see the most value for farmers now and in the future.”

He says the platform is a 50-50 joint venture between Farmlands and Blackcurrent, and it is built to make farmers money, not just save it.

“It’s capturing the delta between when power prices are at their lowest during the day and when they’re at their highest, and monetising that.”

He says every install uses a hybrid inverter so batteries can be added later, and payback runs from six years up to eight or nine, depending on on-farm use.

“The best return you’re ever going to get out of solar is using it yourself, using your own energy, and then the second-best return you’re going to get is selling it at the right times of the day.”

Farmlands FLEX also helps owners on sharemilked or leased land capture the full benefit.

“When they don’t pay the power bill, someone else does.”

The team’s fix is a contract tweak: the owner takes back the power account and invoices the milker for what they use, keeping the savings and the export revenue.

He says getting started is straightforward. Farmlands FLEX contracts local electricians to visit, assess switchboards and transformers, and pull historic power data before we design a system.

“The intent is to get that sparky up the driveway to have a yarn, kick the tyres, and have a look at where panels might go.”

Chat to your local Farmlands rep to learn more, or enquire online at flexenergy.co.nz

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.