Agenda
(More to come)
12 August 2026 - Expo & Conference
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
EnergyCo NSW
Mon 6th Feb
9:20 am
Farmer showcase
From chicken litter to clean energy
Chris Freney
From vines to volts: Navigating the real path to on-farm renewables
Maggie Jarret, See Saw winery Orange
Chair:
Andrew Whitelaw, ag market analysis and co-founder of Episode3.net and AgWatchers
Mon 6th Feb
10:20 am
Adaptation and innovation for the ag sector
Mark Howden, ANU
Mon 6th Feb
10.45am
Morning tea
Mon 6th Feb
11.15 am
From solar panels to smart power: What the future grid means for farmers
Driving energy back to the grid – a bi-directional EV to network trial
Francis Clarke, Farmer
Opportunities for unlocking financial benefits from the electricity grid
John Cleland, CEO Essential Energy
Panel:
Ian Askell, Electrification team at Essential Energy
Karin Stark, connecting their farm’s solar diesel hybrid pump to the grid
Chair: David Hoffmann
Mon 6th Feb
12.00pm
Fact vs Fiction
Rosie Barnes, engineer
Eddy Blaxell, Energy Leadership Australia
Chair: Nathan Hart, CEC
Mon 6th Feb
12.45pm
Calculating Carbon and carbon markets
1.10 pm
1.00 pm
Lunch
Mon 6th Feb
1.45 pm
Breakout sessions
1. Community partnerships in the renewable energy transition
Thinking Past the Turbines – setting up a decommissioning fund for Bango Wind Farm
Tom Gunthorpe, farmer
Solar grazing and the elephant in the room – tax implications of hosting renewables
Tom Warren, farmer
The Regional Energy Accord
Sabiene Heindl, The Energy Charter and Chris Sounness, Wimmera Southern Mallee (WSM) Development
Chair: Charlie Prell, retired farmer
2. On farm case studies
Chair: Andy Clark, Agriculture Victoria
3. Financing renewables and carbon markets
Financial support programs for adopting renewables
Is measuring carbon on farm good for business?
Pippa Jones, Nuffield Scholar, Farmer
Capital, cashflow and kilowatts, evaluating renewable assets on farms
Rhys Lambert, Bluerock accounting
Mon 6th Feb
2.45pm
Afternoon Tea
Mon 6th Feb
3.10 pm
Future farm machinery
Farming energy – biofuels grown on farm
Morgan Hunter
Electric combine harvester
Mon 6th Feb
4.00 pm
Large scale – understanding and making the most of the energy transition
Tax law, insurance and risks
Claire Booth, Farmer / lawyer
The farmer who turned wind income into scholarships
Peter Coy
Creating cheaper power for locals around solar and wind developments
Squadron Energy
Chair: Rhiannon Heath, NSW Farmers
Mon 6th Feb
5.00 pm
Battery storage tech and applications
Glenn Platt, former CSIRO Director, Emergent Group
Mon 6th Feb
5:25 pm
Evaluation and close
Karin Stark, Conference Founder / Director Farm Renewables Consulting
Mon 6th Feb
5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Networking with canapes and wine
13 August 2026
13 August
Farm Tour
See Saw Wines
For ticket holders only. Bus and morning tea provided.