🚜 Gridlocked: Farmers Blocked from Using Their Own Solar Power

Jul 18

2 min read

0

2

In a bizarre twist, Aussie farmers investing in solar power are being told… they can’t even use their own electricity—just because it crosses a line on a map.

Gridlocked: Farmers Blocked from Using Their Own Solar Power

⚡ Solar Power They Can’t Use

Sandra Jefford and Wilco Droppert run Wilandra Dairy Farm in Victoria. They’ve installed $1 million worth of solar panels and batteries across three areas of their property.

Thanks to this, they’ve cut emissions, saved money, and even made irrigation remote-controlled—saving 25 hours of labor a week.

“It’s safer, cheaper, cleaner—everything’s better,” says Sandra.

🚫 One Farm, Three Titles, No Sharing

But here’s the problem:Each solar setup sits on a different land title, and under current rules, they can’t share electricity between them—even though they’re all part of the same farm!

So while one site is selling power to the grid for 4¢/kWh, another part of the farm is buying it back for 35¢/kWh at the same time.

“It’s crazy,” Sandra says. “Same farm, same wires, but we can’t use our own power.”

📜 Outdated Rules Are the Culprit

This mess comes from the National Electricity Rules, which say power sent to the grid must be sold—it can’t go to another site, even if it’s just across the fence.

“The system just wasn’t built for farms like this,” says Natalie Collard from Farmers for Climate Action.

🧩 Possible Solutions—None Simple

AusNet once considered letting the farm trial a “microgrid” to share power—but later dropped the idea.

Now, the options are:

Merge the land titles and rebuild power lines (costly and complex)
Create an “embedded network”, like those in malls or caravan parks (not made for farms)

“We even offered to pay just 2¢ to move our own power—still no luck,” says Sandra.

🔧 Time for Rule Changes

Experts agree it’s time to fix these outdated rules.Dr Muriel Watt says Australia is wasting renewable energy potential and adding costs instead of saving money.