Source
https://www.rewiring.nz/electric-farms — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Rewiring Aotearoa (2024) — Electric Farms
Farms as mid-scale "power stations" — and the c/kWh delivered-cost stack NI needs
Argues NZ farms are uniquely placed to host mid-scale solar + battery (100 kW–10 MW generation, 100 kWh–5 MWh storage): owner-operated, land + sun, close to MV networks, able to defer poles-and-wires and export at peak. Built around the Forest Lodge Orchard case (Central Otago — “world’s first electric fruit farm”). The NI-critical contribution is Figure 1: the delivered cost of energy in actual c/kWh — grid 33.9c, rooftop solar 6.2c (11.5c financed), battery cycle 22.6c (32.0c financed), diesel generator 75.7c — the absolute-number complement to OT_065’s percentages. Advocacy-authored; the c/kWh figures are RA’s analysis of MBIE data → data_quality: medium.
Summary
Rewiring Aotearoa’s Electric Farms makes the case that New Zealand farms should become distributed “power stations”, hosting mid-scale solar and battery systems that cut their own energy bills, export to the grid at peak, and defer network upgrades. It anchors the argument in the Forest Lodge Orchard case (45 kW solar + 120 kWh battery, fully electrified machinery incl. NZ’s first electric tractor) and projects the national potential (if all 50,000 NZ farms installed 500 kW solar → +28,000–33,000 GWh/yr ≈ 63–75% of NZ electricity demand). Its central evidence object for NI is a delivered-cost-of-energy breakdown in c/kWh across grid, rooftop solar, battery and diesel — plus a worked farm economics (savings, finance, export-revenue) and a policy ask list (net metering, permitted mid-scale ground solar, non-consumptive micro-hydro consent exemption).
Key claims
- claim: "Delivered cost of energy (c/kWh, Figure 1; RA analysis of MBIE Energy Prices 2023 + QSDEP, solar installer data 5,000 kW, $1,000/kWh battery+BMS, avg NZ wholesale 2019–2023): GRID total 33.9 (variable 24.3 + fixed 9.7) = Generation 14.6 + Distribution 9.5 + Retail 5.8 + Transmission 2.2 + Metering 1.6 + Other 0.1; ROOFTOP SOLAR 6.2 (11.5 financed at 5%); BATTERY CYCLE 22.6 (32.0 financed at 5%); DIESEL GENERATOR 75.7."
source_location: "Figure 1, p.6"
- claim: "Forest Lodge Orchard (Central Otago): 45 kW rooftop solar + 120 kWh battery provides ~45% of the farm's electricity; electricity use rose ~900% after full electrification yet peak grid drawdown stayed low and NO new local distribution (poles/lines) was required. Can export >100 kW — enough to offset the peak demand of ~25 local homes."
source_location: "'The opportunity for farms' p.4 + 'Our local distribution networks' p.5"
- claim: "Forest Lodge economics: saves >$40,000/yr (avoided diesel + grid + network charges); two equivalent petrol vehicles at rural mileage would cost ~$12,000/yr → orchard now spends just over $1,000/yr on them. Emissions cut from ~54 t CO₂e/yr to ~4 t CO₂e/yr (93% reduction; zero on a fully renewable grid). Total additional profit ~$60,000/yr = $40,000 avoided costs + $12,000 CPD-export + $8,000 wholesale-export."
source_location: "'Cost savings on-farm' p.6 + p.7 + 'Total additional profit' Fig 4 p.9"
- claim: "Forest Lodge capex: $881,590 on electric machinery + $272,604 on solar+battery; $141,228 supported by EECA demonstration grants + MPI Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund, vehicles via the (now discontinued) EV rebate. Total ~$450,000 more than diesel alternatives. The $40,000/yr saving services $400,000 of debt over 15 yr at 5.5%, or $550,000 at 1%. Tripling capacity today would cost ~$180,000 (~60% the cost per kWh of the original system, 2019–2022)."
source_location: "'Low-cost finance can support this transition' p.7 + p.8"
- claim: "Aurora Energy CPD trial (Upper Clutha): pays Forest Lodge for exporting during Control Period Demand hours (high-demand cold winter mornings, ~80 hrs/yr) at ~$1.50/kWh — ~$12,000/yr expected, on top of ~$8,000/yr wholesale export. A first NZ example of an EDB rewarding a farm battery for reducing network peak."
source_location: "'Resetting the system' p.9"
- claim: "National potential: if each of NZ's ~50,000 farms installed 500 kW solar → +28,000–33,000 GWh/yr (≈63–75% of NZ's total electricity consumption); +300 kWh battery each → ~9,000 GWh storage. Distribution networks run at only 30–40% utilisation, so throughput could ~double by smoothing peaks. NZ agriculture spends ~$700M/yr on diesel (EECA)."
source_location: "p.10 + p.5 (utilisation) + 'The opportunity' p.4 ($700M diesel). ⚠ The '~$700M diesel (EECA)' is a Rewiring DERIVATION, not a verbatim EECA figure: EECA's 'Off-road liquid fuel insights' ([[ot_126_eeca-off-road-liquid-fuel-2021|OT_126]], ingested 2026-07-17) carries only the 295 M L/yr agriculture off-road diesel VOLUME and no dollar figure — ~$700M ≈ 295 M L × ~rural diesel price."
- claim: "Context figures: NZ homeowners pay ~12c/kWh for transmission + distribution (early 2024); NZ grid ~80% renewable (82% in 2021) but electricity is only ~26% of total energy consumption (needs to ~2–3× to electrify). Transpower modelling: +68% electricity demand by 2050, +5 GW generation, 70 new grid-scale connections. BCG 'The future is electric': $42bn investment ($10bn generation / $8bn transmission / $22bn distribution). Non-consumptive micro-hydro + micro-wind noted as viable farm alternatives to solar."
source_location: "p.2 + p.3 + p.5 + p.10"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
Supplies the absolute c/kWh layer that OT_065 gave only as percentages — the highest-value economic input in the batch. Figure 1 lets an NI economic layer price each pathway directly: grid-delivered ≈ 33.9c/kWh, self-generated rooftop solar ≈ 6.2c (11.5c financed), a battery-stored kWh ≈ 22.6c (32.0c financed), diesel backup ≈ 75.7c — which is exactly the cost stack behind the D21 grid-vs-off-grid breakeven and the value of battery self-consumption (pairs with OT_065’s asymmetry and RD_018’s MBIE prices). The Forest Lodge case is the recurring NZ full-electrification exemplar (also in OT_064) and a validation worked-example (RT_232): 45 kW solar + 120 kWh battery, ~45% self-supply, no new network needed. The Aurora CPD trial (1.50/kWh peak export) is a second NZ peak-value datapoint alongside OT_065's 77/kVA. The “farms as mid-scale power stations” + micro-hydro/micro-wind framing maps directly to the Neobiome remote-community-as-generator scope. Caveats: advocacy-authored; single-case + national-projection figures; c/kWh is RA’s synthesis.
Cross-source reconciliation: this primary states Forest Lodge = 45 kW solar + 120 kWh battery; OT_064’s “~160 kWh of solar” (already flagged) appears imprecise — treat 45 kW solar / 120 kWh battery as authoritative (the orchard later planned to triple capacity, which may explain larger later figures).
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- RT_235 — Aurora Energy Control Period Demand (CPD) / flexibility-reward trial (Upper Clutha): the ~
1.50/kWh peak-export reward + ~80 CPD hrs/yr — candidate NI value-of-peak-battery input (complements RT_233 Orion77/kVA). - RT_236 (PARTIAL → OT_126): EECA “Off-road liquid fuel insights” ingested — the off-road fuel-use breakdown is delivered (agriculture 295 M L off-road diesel/yr). ⚠ The ~
700M/yr is a Rewiring derivation from EECA's 295 M L volume, NOT a verbatim EECA figure; RT_236 stays open on the-spend leg (needs a rural diesel price).
Research gaps
- Figure 1’s c/kWh primaries are largely held (MBIE QSDEP = RD_018); the open piece is the battery-cycle cost basis ($1,000/kWh + BMS, 22.6c/kWh cycle cost) — reconcile against CR_008 NZ battery pricing before reuse.
Connections
Links to
Referenced by
Sources (3): OT_126 · OT_163 · URL_036
EDT domains (1): D01: Renewable Energy & Storage Systems
SSI indicators (1): I01: Financial & Economic Self-Sufficiency
Cases (1): Electric Cherries