VIDEO: Solar and Geothermal on Wayne Lording’s Farm
Published on by Arthur Ha, Barefoot Economic Services - Economist
In the second of our series on Sustainable Farming on Wayne Lording's farm (see here for the introduction), we talk to Wayne about how and why he installed solar and geothermal technologies to replace conventional energy sources. Key points are:
- Combined solar and geothermal system has a payback period of one year.
- Geothermal technologies are available and proven in Australia.
- The key savings are from reducing ongoing energy costs. In Wayne's case, he saved $5200 per year from reducing the need to use LPG.
- Because renewable energy technologies require little or no fuel, they provide a useful hedge against electricity or LPG price volatility.