Farmlands Flex: Powering a Rural Energy Revolution

In the ag sector, input costs can make or break a season and electricity is one of the largest expenses.

Farmlands Flex is helping Kiwi farmers turn unused land and rooftops into powerful energy-generating assets, cutting costs and creating new income streams.

Farmlands is partnering with energy software company Blackcurrent to change that equation through Farmlands Flex, a joint solar and technology venture that puts the power literally and financially into farmers' hands.

Much more than solar panels, Farmlands Flex delivers intelligent microgrid systems custom-built and managed to meet the demands of working farms and orchards. The system is designed to create energy independence for farmers and growers, slashing power bills, keeping critical operations running during outages and even generating a long-term income source.

"Rising energy costs are a huge concern for our customers," says Farmlands CEO Tanya Houghton. "Finding solutions for on-farm energy needs has been a part of Farmlands’ strategy for a long time.”

To better support the profitability and productivity of farmers and growers, Farmlands provides five-year electricity pricing certainty through its partnership with Meridian. Its three-year-old fuel joint-venture, Fern Energy, is now the country’s largest rural bulk fuel provider. Farmlands Flex is set to truly transform on-farm energy sourcing and management as another key cornerstone of Farmlands’ total offering.

“The on-farm applications for Farmlands Flex are wide-reaching, the 5am dairy shed power surge, keeping irrigation running during blackouts and protecting frost fans when electricity isn’t available or there’s an outage. Farmlands Flex addresses real farm challenges,” says Tanya.

Farmlands Flex was officially launched at National Fieldays and the Farmlands team is already engaging with farmers and growers to design personalised plans. The system is already live on 20 farms, with more than 250 others registering interest within days of launch.

And while the immediate benefits are compelling, up to 40% reduction in electricity costs, operational continuity during power outages, conversion of power expenses into a valuable on-farm asset and the potential to sell surplus energy back to the grid – the wider implications are even more ambitious.

Farmlands Flex is the first platform of its kind to enable New Zealand farmers to generate and sell electricity into the spot market when prices are highest, creating a decentralised rural power supply. The potential impact is enormous.

Farmlands Flex modelling shows that if 10,000 farms adopt the system, they could generate over 1,100 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, equivalent to a third of New Zealand’s total wind generation. Scaled up to the country’s 50,000 farms, the sector could generate up to 6,600 gigawatt-hours a year, around 15% of national electricity consumption. At current spot prices, exporting just 30% of that energy could deliver up to $870 million in annual revenue to rural New Zealand.

“Kiwi farmers and growers could become one of the country’s largest energy generators,” Tanya says. “Electricity farming has the potential to turn a farm input cost into a new revenue stream, like a new crop for farmers. Importantly, the best locations for solar panels are most often unutilised roof spaces and unproductive land areas, so this will have no impact on the productivity of our farmland.”

Andrew Pegler CEO of Farmlands Flex, better known as Pegs, says the system transforms electricity from a cost into a “new crop.” By combining solar generation, battery storage and real-time market integration, the Flex system allows farmers to produce, store and automatically sell electricity into the wholesale market at the most profitable times.

“Most existing farm solar systems are limited to self-use and fixed-rate buyback costs set by the big electricity companies. The Farmlands Flex system makes farmers participants in the wholesale market on the same terms as the big generators. The system automatically sells when prices are high and stores power when spot market rates are lower,” Pegs explains.

A standard Farmlands Flex system includes a 100kW solar array, a 100kWh battery and all the software and hardware needed to manage usage and market sales. Installation typically costs between $200,000 and $250,000. However, the system is cashflow positive from day one when financed, thanks to the electricity savings and spot market revenue regularly exceeding loan repayments. Most systems are expected to pay themselves off within six to seven years and continue generating income for up to 30 years.

Blackcurrent modelling shows a medium-sized dairy farm currently spending $30,000 to $40,000 annually on electricity could save tens of thousands and generate up to $38,750 in additional income in the first year alone through the Flex platform.

Among the early adopters are North Canterbury dairy farmers Kylie and Gavin Bay, who have already installed 30kWh of solar panels on their cowshed. They're seeing significant reductions in their power bills and are now looking to install batteries to begin exporting to the grid.

“I do believe we can generate some serious income out of the cowshed and we have the room to expand without encroaching on the grazing side of the business,” says Gavin. “We can put panels in unused areas and really get some benefits out of that. If we can turn that unused ground into power and feed it back into the grid, the sky’s the limit.”

Tanya Houghton encourages farmers to start the conversation. “Grab your power bill and call us. We’re ready to work with you on the options for your farm or orchard.”

With Farmlands Flex, the future of electricity in rural New Zealand is looking both brighter and more profitable than ever.