Major new almond producer to go solar

A major new player in the Australian almond market has announced it will add a solar farm to its growing assets in NSW and Victoria.

A major new player in the Australian almond market has announced it will build a solar farm to power one of its orchards.

Private company Australian Farming Services has, by design, “flown under the radar” until now, quietly acquiring 4500ha of almond orchards in Victoria and NSW – making it the third largest player in Australia’s growing almond industry.

The company, which is majority backed by a US-based investment fund, popped its head above the parapet this week to announce it would be developing a solar farm the size of two Melbourne Cricket Grounds to power its Cadell almond orchard near Balranald, in NSW’s south west.

AFS chief executive David Armstrong said the decision was motivated by a need for a more reliable and cost effective energy supply as the orchard reaches full productivity next season.

Until now, the company has been irrigating the 1690ha orchard using a diesel generator — an increasingly expensive prospect as diesel prices climb.

“We have to move off generators. You don’t want to be on diesel, in particular at the scale that we’re on,” Mr Armstrong said.

Mr Armstrong said it had not been in the company’s interests to make any public announcements until now, but AFS was now preparing for a more public profile as the first of its three almond farms reached full production in the 2023-24 season.

The company, which runs three almond aggregations across south west NSW and north west Victoria, has also applied to build a processing plant near Swan Hill to accommodate its increasing almond stocks.

Australian Farming Services chief executive David Armstrong says solar power offers a more reliable and cost effective power supply than other options.

The switch to solar is expected to cut the Cadell orchard’s reliance on diesel fuel by 85 per cent and deliver up to 40 per cent energy cost savings annually once the installation comes online in late 2023.

The five-hectare 5.2GWh solar microgrid, to be run under a power purchase agreement with AGL, will be the second to be installed on an almond farm, after AGL announced a similar set up at Olam Food Ingredient’s Kerabury Farm orchard earlier this year.

AGL Chief Customer Officer Jo Egan said the project was “a great example of how AGL ispartnering with agribusinesses to help them reduce their carbon emissions and lower their energy costs”.

The almond industry, which overtook wine grapes to become the largest horticultural industry in the Lower Murray this year, has been working to improve its environmental image and shake off its reputation as a water guzzler.

Almonds consume an average of 12.5 megalitres of water a hectare annually, according to the Almond Board of Australia, higher than grapes, which need 9-10ML/ha, and citrus, which require 8-10ML/ha.

“Yes, we still use a lot of water. But we manage it really well,” Mr Armstrong said.

According to modelling by AGL, the Cadell solar array will cut the orchard’s scope 1 CO2 emissions by 4,700 tonnes each year — the equivalent of taking 1500 cars off the road.

Almonds are a big industry in the small south west NSW town of Balranald, where the council went into administration under a financial cloud in 2020.

Balranald Shire Council administrator Michael Colreavy said the almond industry, and AFS’s Cadell farm in particular, was a major player in the struggling local region’s economy, and any new workers to the area would be a bonus.

Balranald Shire, which manages a 23,000 square kilometre area with a population of just over 2000, went into administration under a financial cloud in 2020.

The installation is set to employ 40 people during design and construction, in addition to the 120 workers employed across AFS’s three farms.

The almond industry, which overtook wine grapes as the dominant horticultural crop in the Lower Murray this year, is working to improve its environmental credentials. Pictured: Australian Farming Services’ Cadell almond orchard near Balranald. Photo: Australian Farming Services

A solar farm will be installed on five hectares of land at the Cadell almond orchard near Balranald in south west NSW. Photo: Australian Farming Services.