Rising diesel costs are leading many farmers to consider changing their irrigation systems from diesel to electricity.

The potential cost savings achievable by making this change will depend on the efficiency of your current system, the amount of water you pump, and the new electricity tariff. Within the Sunraysia, Goulburn Murray and Macalister Irrigation Districts and for private diverters in the North East, the Irrigation Team at Agriculture Victoria can undertake an assessment to estimate the cost savings achievable by converting your system to electricity.

A recent assessment found one farmer could save up to $22,000 – $31,500 per year by switching from diesel to electricity to power his centre pivot pump. In this case the diesel genset was running inefficiently because it was oversized, a common scenario with gensets powering large pumps. The farmer was pumping about 400 ML per year. In this instance, the payback period of connecting to electricity would be expected at 3 – 4 years, depending on the electricity tariff paid and ongoing diesel costs.

Diesel vs electricity cost comparison for irrigation pumping

The costs of making this change will vary depending on the proximity of your pump to the existing grid, as well as your current pump set up. For systems where a diesel genset powers an electric motor on the pump, changing to electricity could simply require connecting mains power. However, if you have a diesel motor directly driving the pump, you will need to purchase and install a new electric motor and potentially a variable speed drive as well as connecting to mains power.

The costs of connecting mains power can vary significantly. Regional Victorian electricity network operators Powercor and AusNet provide a simple Quick Calculator to get a preliminary estimate of the cost of connecting electricity to your pump site. These calculators and more information on the application process can be found at the internet addresses below.
For larger systems you may have to contact the network operators directly.

Understanding the full costs and benefits of making the switch to electricity is important, because every system and scenario is different. Investigate your situation to determine the potential savings before committing to the conversion.

Agriculture Victoria has tools for assessing the energy efficiency of your irrigation system at Irrigating Agriculture – energy assessment tools.

If you are interested in more information about irrigation and energy efficiency visit the Irrigating Agriculture, Energy Smart Farming or Agriculture Victoria websites, or contact the Agriculture Victoria Irrigation Team by filling in the form below.

	Powercor	AusNet
Calculators and applications	Powercor Quick Calculator	Ausnet Cost Calculator
Customer team contact	1800 771 434	1300 360 795
Map of existing network	Powercor network map
Map of energy suppliers	Energy supplier map