Renewablesinag

Agenda (more to come)

23 July 2025

Mon 6th Feb

8:00 am

EXPO open

Mon 6th Feb

9:00 am

Welcome and housekeeping

Karin Stark, Conference Founder / Director Farm Renewables Consulting

Mon 6th Feb

9:10 am

Major sponsor address

TBC, VicGrid

Mon 6th Feb

9:20 am

Keynote

Tim Buckley, Clean Energy Finance, ‘The new opportunity – mid-scale solar on farms’

Mon 6th Feb

9:45 am

Fact vs Faction

Setting the record straight on renewable energy

Andrew Dyer, ex-Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner

Sabiene Heindl, Chief Executive Officer The Energy Charter

Q&A

Mon 6th Feb

10.15am

Morning tea

Mon 6th Feb

10.45 am

Farmer Showcase

Farms of the future – electrification and batteries

Mike Casey, New Zealand cherry farmer

Using solar irrigation to cut costs in a dairy, Victoria

Sandra Jefford

A circular economy farm using biogas and solar to reduce waste, emissions and costs

Caleb Smith, Farm Owner at Kia-Ora Piggery

Q&A

  • Chair: TBC

Mon 6th Feb

12.00pm

Large scale energy transition -

tax law, insurance, land negotiations, agrivoltaics and hosting transmission

  • Claire Booth, farmer, lawyer, ex-EnergyCo board – Insurance and tax law
  • Billy Greenham, Cogency – The spectrum of development involvement for landowners, practical advice for negotiating and a farmer-led case study
  • TBC, EnergyCo & Andrew Bomm, Progressive Agriculture – Agrivoltaics Handbook
  • Simon Tickner – Cropping farmer hosting transmission and wind turbines

Q&A

  • Chair: TBC

12.25 pm

1.10 pm

Lunch

Mon 6th Feb

2.00 pm

Breakout sessions

1. Diversifying farm income, reducing energy costs via demand management and carbon sequestration in soils

 

  • Steven Hobbs, farmer Victoria – Sequestering carbon in soils through changed land management
  • Flow Power – How to reduce energy costs for farms through demand management

Q&A

  • Chair: Farmers for Climate Action rep
  •  

2. Bioenergy, biomethane and heat for processing

 

Dom Murphy, farmer Meredith Dairy

Peter Blackmore, Impacts

Jemena Renewable Gas – Biomethane and feedstocks

Q&A

  • Chair: TBC

3. Large scale 

Squadron Energy

Michael Katz, RELA

  • Q&A
  • Chair: TBC

Mon 6th Feb

3.00pm

Afternoon Tea

Mon 6th Feb

3.30 pm

Grid and microgrids

DNSPs

Ian Askell, Essential Energy

AGL Microgrids

Brendan Weinart/Richard Johnston

Panel discussion

Sandra Jefford, dairy farmer 

  • Chair: TBC

Mon 6th Feb

4.20 pm

Renewable gas – Biomethane

TBC

Mon 6th Feb

4.50 pm

Battery technology 101

Huon Hoogesteger, Smart Commercial Solar

 

  • Chair: TBC

Mon 6th Feb

5:10 pm

Sponsor Wrap up

Tom Fisher, DAVEY

Mon 6th Feb

5.15 pm – 7.30 pm

Networking with canapes and wine

24th July

Farm Tour
(TBC)

welcome