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
Alistair Parker, CEO VicGrid
Mon 6th Feb
9:20 am
Keynote
Are we there yet? The country’s economic transformation
Tony Wood, Director – Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute
Mon 6th Feb
9:45 am
Fact vs Fiction
Setting the record straight on renewable energy
Andrew Dyer, former Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner
Rosemary Barnes, engineer, owner of Pardalote Consulting
Q&A
Chair: TBC
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
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: Jane Knight, AgriFutures Australia
Mon 6th Feb
12.00pm
Large scale energy transition
Tax law, insurance, agrivoltaics and hosting transmission
Insurance and tax law
Claire Booth, farmer, lawyer, ex-EnergyCo board
The spectrum of development involvement for landowners and a farmer-led case study
Billy Greenham, Cogency
Agrivoltaics Handbook
EnergyCo & Andrew Bomm, Progressive Agriculture
Cropping farmer hosting transmission and wind turbines
Q&A
Chair: Nathan Hart, Clean Energy Council
1.10 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
Diversifying income
Tom Warren, farmer NSW
Sequestering carbon in soils through changed land management
Steven Hobbs, farmer Victoria
How to reduce energy costs for farms through demand management
Charles Bransden, Flow Power
A systems approach to reducing farm emissions in Australia
Stephen Todd, Volt Farmer
Q&A
Chair: Andrew Chamberlin, Queensland Farmers Federation
2. Bioenergy, biomethane and heat for processing
Dom Murphy, farmer Meredith Dairy
Concentrated Solar Thermal – green heat for processing
Peter Blackmore, Impacts
Biomethane and feedstocks
Philippa Minton, Jemena Renewable Gas
Q&A
Chair: TBC
3. Navigating the energy transition: decommissioning, developer negotiations, and community gains
Tips and tricks for negotiating with developers
Michael Katz, RELA
Daniel Moroko, Rok Solid
Murray Wood, CEO, Dubbo Regional Council
Brent Finlay, farmer
Q&A
Chair: Natalie Collard, CEO Farmers for Climate Action
Mon 6th Feb
3.00pm
Afternoon Tea
Mon 6th Feb
3.30 pm
Microgrids and the evolving distribution network
DNSPs
Ian Askell, Essential Energy
AGL Microgrids
Ana Erceg, AusNet Services
Panel discussion
Sandra Jefford, dairy farmer
Chair: Simon Wright, Charles Sturt University
Mon 6th Feb
4.20 pm
From whiteboard to field:
Tackling the challenges of renewable energy on farms
Sabiene Heindl, Chief Executive Officer The Energy Charter
Cassien Drew, Acclimate Partners on behalf of Agrifutures Australia
Mon 6th Feb
4.50 pm
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
24 July 2025
24 July 2025
Farm Tour
Bioenergy at Kia Ora Piggery