The Tasmanian Government is introducing several initiatives to lower energy costs for farmers. $750,000 will go towards the On-farm Energy and Irrigation Audit program, specifically for Tasmanian farmers, providing them with professional energy auditors, infrastructure and systems.
Also commencing is a review of the Solar Feed-in Tariff, which will determine a suitable reward to those who have installed, or are looking to install solar in Tasmania, including farmers.
A review into the current structure of irrigation electricity tariffs is underway to ensure they are more suitable to modern irrigation enterprises, while offering a competitive advantage to Tasmanians.
The Government has also initiated the Farm Energy Advocate service, which aims to help farmers better manage their energy and usage costs. This service is now available through Aurora Energy, with details available through Aurora’s website or by calling the Farm Energy Advocate Service directly.
The government’s target is to ensure Tasmania has the lowest regulated electricity prices in the country by 2022 and to make Tasmania renewable energy self-sufficient with an additional 1,000GW hours of on-island renewable energy by 2022.
These initiatives will help farmers stay competitive and ahead of the game when it comes to on-farm energy, and will support the Government’s plan to grow the value of the agricultural sector to $10 billion a year by 2050.
