The billions of dollars to be earned by farming wind and solar

Farmers could earn thousands of dollars annually should they integrate solar and wind farming with beef and cattle, a new report has found.

Farmers who embrace renewable energy projects on farm could be part of a “green energy” boom, reaping the financial rewards of integrating solar and wind farming with grazing beef and sheep.

A Clean Energy Council and Farmers for Climate Action report released Monday showed large-scale wind and solar projects across the national electricity market could deliver between $9.7 to $11.7 billion in landholder payments and contributions to regional communities in the coming decades, including more than $7 billion in direct landholder payments.

The report found wind farm payments to landholders are commonly calculated on a per megawatt basis, with annual payments between $5500 to $6500 per MW.

For solar, payments are often calculated on a per hectare basis, according to the report, with one MW of solar panels occupying about 2ha of land, with a resulting payment rate of $1500 to $2500 per MW.

To compare, a beef farm in a high rainfall region might produce $1500 per hectare in a good season, the report stated.

Farmers who integrate solar and wind on-farm could earn thousands per year in landowner payments, according to a recent report. Picture: Supplied.

Farmers for Climate Action chief executive Natalie Collard said farmers were typically offered more than $40,000 rent per turbine per year and up to $1500 a ha for solar panels, creating a “double income”.

Sheep and cattle producer Luke Osborne is a fifth generation farmer on the shores of Lake George in NSW.

His farm has 27 wind turbines on his property, Ellendon, as part of the Capital Wind Farm project, and said the inclusion of renewables on farm was a significant form of reliable revenue for the operation for 15 years

“From the farm perspective, I sit down annually with the team and do a budget, and the wind farm income is part of that alongside other commodities. The most important thing about that revenue is that it’s 100 per cent going to be there, and not going to have any costs,” Mr Osborne said.

“It’s fantastic diversification … I would love for other farmers to have that, the idea that you can have foundational income cashflow even in the bad times.”

Mr Osborne grazes sheep under and alongside solar panels on his farm, and said the partial shading from the panels works to reduce soil moisture evaporation on his sandy soils.

He said due to country being opened up and developed for the wind turbines, such as the development of roads, meant he could integrate multipurpose crops, grazing cropping rotations, and has lifted his stocking rates from 12,000 dry sheep equivalent to 24,000 in recent years, while also investing in on-farm infrastructure such as fencing due to extra income from the renewables.

“This is a very rare opportunity, you’ve essentially got big cities where the electricity is used and paid for and they’re offering the bush a lot of money to host the infrastructure to do this,” Mr Osborne said.

“My Dad always talks of the 1950s wool boom, this could be another great time for farmers and farming communities, if we look at this as an opportunity. We need to make it work for us, rather than just saying no.”