Webinar recordings

This page contains information and links to recordings of the following webinars and events:


Agriculture Victoria Energy Webinar Series

Irrigation energy savings for horticulture – Webinar recording

A lifetime of pumping costs can far out-weigh the capital costs of an irrigation system, so designing, managing and maintaining an efficient irrigation system is vital to minimising costs. 

Agriculture Victoria’s Nick O’Halloran and Jeremy Giddings explored the opportunities to improve the energy efficiency and reduce pumping costs of your pressurised irrigation system.

Landowners and renewable energy developments: what you need to know – webinar recording

At times, landowners in suitable areas are contacted by developers exploring potential locations for solar farms, wind farms or battery energy storage systems for connection to the electricity grid. It can be difficult as a landowner to know what your rights are, the questions to ask, and how to maximise benefits for yourself, your farm, and your community.  

During this webinar, we heard from a range of expert speakers covering the below topics, as well as a question-and-answer session.  

  • The energy transition – VicGrid
  • Farmers role in the energy transition – Farmers for Climate Action 
  • Best practice from developers – the Clean Energy Council 
  • Landowner rights and avenues for complaints – Office of the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner
  • Farmer experience – a Glenrowan farmer who leases land for a solar farm
  • The planning and approvals process – Department of Transport and Planning

Insights from the Agriculture Energy Investment Plan – Webinar recording

The Agriculture Energy Investment Plan has supported agricultural businesses to reduce energy costs, improve energy efficiency and explore alternative energy options through energy assessments, grants, demonstrations, research and extension.

Agriculture Victoria hosted a webinar to share insights and key findings from the research and demonstration projects completed under the Agriculture Energy Investment Plan.

The webinar covered:

  • On-farm energy opportunities: analysis of AEIP assessments, Adriana Robaina, Agriculture Victoria
  • Economic insights from farmers’ energy journeys, Julie Harman, Agriculture Victoria
  • Dairy Energy at Ellinbank SmartFarm, Greg Morris, Agriculture Victoria
  • Orchard Agrivoltaics at Tatura SmartFarm, Ian Goodwin, Agriculture Victoria
  • Pasture Agrivoltaics in Solar Farms, Bruce Gill, Agriculture Victoria.

Commercial feasibility of gasification and pyrolysis on-farm – Webinar recording

Agricultural and woody biomass residues are generated across rural and regional Victoria which can be converted into renewable power and thermal energy, also producing biochar and wood vinegar.

This webinar is a practical discussion behind the commercial case for investing in pyrolysis or gasification for your farm with topic experts and farm businesses. Dominic Murphy, Meredith Dairy, shared the investment case, operation and benefits of the gasification system installed by Meredith Dairy. Kane Ravenscroft, Optimal Group, provided an overview of pyrolysis, the opportunities and shared two case studies Rainbow Bee Eater is implementing for horticultural greenhouses. Kelly Wickham, Agriculture Victoria, introduced the Advanced Thermal Treatment for Agricultural Residues (ATTAR) financial assessment tool.

Investing in Sustainable Energy – Larkman Nurseries – Webinar recording

In this webinar Kelly Wickham, Agriculture Victoria, provides an overview of horticulture energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Clive Larkman, Larkman Nurseries, shares the investments his business made in energy technologies including solar PV and a battery bank to reduce production risk and outlines the investment process with no capital outlay.

Energy Analysis – Webinar recording

This webinar explores energy measurement, what to monitor and control options to assist you in gaining control of your on-farm energy usage. During the webinar Nigel Crump from AuSPICA and Stephen Soutar from Alternative Energy Innovations lead us through:

  • The 7 P’s to energy measurement and monitoring; and
  • The keys to energy monitoring and controls

Energy Storage Options – Webinar recording

Energy storage technologies provide the opportunity to capture excess energy generated on-farm to be utilised at a later time when there is energy demand.

Presenter Ellie Shirdel, Pitt & Sherry, spoke about energy storage options including batteries, thermal storage and kinetic systems. Ellie provided an overview of each technology and how these technologies may be utilised on-farm.

Fred Jonkers, a Gippsland dairy farmer, shared his experiences and the benefits of installing a solar and battery system for his farm.

Backup power options in agriculture – Webinar recording

Power outages can significantly impact agricultural businesses and the loss of power disrupts critical farm infrastructure.

During the webinar Agriculture Victoria’s Richard Smith gave an overview of the impacts of power outages on agricultural businesses. Liz Fletcher, Managing Director of Birdwood Energy, discussed alternative power options available and what to consider when selecting a system. Joel Vanderuit, General Manager at Tall Trees nursery, explained why he has implemented a battery and solar backup power system. The final speaker was Bruce Manintveld, a dairy farmer in Gippsland, who shared his story of the impacts a power outage had on his business and why having a generator for backup power is a high priority.

Irrigation Energy Efficiency – Webinar recording

Lifetime pumping costs can be more than five times the capital cost of a pumping system, so designing and maintaining an efficient irrigation system is vital to minimising costs. Irrigation assessments are one-way farmers can identify opportunities to save energy, costs and stress.

During the webinar Agriculture Victoria’s Nick O’Halloran shared:

  • How to measure the energy efficiency of pumped irrigation systems.
  • Common causes of poor energy efficiency.
  • Tools available to identify improvement opportunities and quantify dollar savings.

Energy Efficiency in Horticulture – Webinar recording

In this webinar Agriculture Victoria hosted a panel discussion with three managers, Dasha Sherif (I.M Sweet Australia), Jason Shields (Plunkett Orchards) and Rowan Little (Montague Orchards) who shared their experiences in implementing sustainable energy technologies, improving energy efficiency and generating renewable energy.

Bioenergy – Webinar recording

Bioenergy is generated from organic materials such as manure, straw or other organic residues through processes including anaerobic digestion and combustion.

The webinar explored anaerobic digestion with Stephan Tait, Senior Process Engineer at Scolexia and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland. Following on Sohum Gandhi, Director of Enriva, walked us through a number of thermal bioenergy systems Enriva has designed and implemented on-farm.  Kelly Wickham, Industry Development Coordinator – Energy at Agriculture Victoria rounded out the webinar. Kelly provided an overview of the current bioenergy systems operating and under development in Victoria including on-farm applications.

Solar on-farm – Webinar recording

In this webinar recording, Geoff Lodge, CEO of GV Community Energy explores solar on-farm. During the webinar Geoff explained where solar is suitable on-farm, getting the most out of solar, understanding the process of connecting to the grid to export excess electricity generated and the maintenance requirements of solar.

Agriculture Energy Investment Plan – Grant opportunities for beef and sheep producers – Webinar recording

Are you wanting to reduce energy costs on-farm? Do you want to increase farm energy efficiency? Want to know more about renewable energy options? The Agriculture Energy Investment Plan (AEIP) assessments and grants provide an opportunity to explore the answers to these questions.

Energy Efficiency on Dairy Farms – Webinar recording

Are you wanting to reduce energy costs on-farm? Do you want to increase farm energy efficiency? Want to maximise the return from renewable energy sources? The answers to these questions and more were explored by Gabriel Hakim in the Energy Efficiency on Dairy Farms Webinar as part of Agriculture Victoria’s Energy Webinar Series.

Understanding your electricity bill and supply – Webinar recording

In this recording, Geoff Lodge, CEO of GV Community Energy explores the answers to reducing energy costs on-farm by leading us through the electricity grid and connections, electricity tariffs and charges, and how to get the best deal for your farm.


Exploring Beyond Diesel webinar series

Our reliance on diesel and Australia’s limited production of it, along with the environmental impacts, led NSW Department of Primary Industries to produce a series of online forums exploring alternatives and transitions for agricultural production systems that are possible beyond diesel reliance.


Improving energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions – Webinar recording

With increasing electricity prices and a transition to decarbonise our businesses, innovation will be crucial to the wine industry in overcoming challenges and capitalising on opportunities to reduce costs and carbon emissions. In this webinar we hear directly from three diverse NSW based farmers who recently completed the journey from concept to deployment of energy efficiency hubs, including on-farm energy generation with solar panels, flow batteries and peer-to-peer energy trading.


The better fuel future – webinar recording

At a Energy Smart Farming Community of Practice (ESF COP) meeting, Cliff from Refuelling Solutions outlined the development and use of “biodiesel” and “renewable diesel” and where they can fit into decarbonising diesel power.