New future for banana plantations

UNPROFITABLE banana plantations could have a future as solar farms if a local experiment proves successful.

Middle Boambee's Allan Hambling has installed 10 solar collection towers with a tracking system, capable of generating up to 20 kilowatts of electricity between them.

“I've wanted to slow down traffic on this road for years and now I have,” Mr Hambling said, laughing.

“I can see people slowing down on the road, stopping and peering up at it.”

Based on current market rates, Mr Hambling estimates his best day of solar generation in the few weeks since installation would have earned him $90.

However, the initial investment is massive, as the solar collection panel towers and inverters cost about $100,000, with 10 tracking devices costing close to $50,000, not including installation.

After losing all his bananas in the drought during a trip away, he considered what else he could farm.

“Bananas are not really profitable anymore. There's nothing on steep land that's going to be cheaper to grow than on flat land,” he said.

Repaying the initial investment could take some time.

“I'm hoping to get financial equity out of it in seven years. But who knows; how much is the sun going to shine?” he said.

He said investing in solar harvesting was an ethical decision.

His solar farm is the largest in the district to the knowledge of supplier Brendan Graetz of North Coast Power and Water. Each electricity meter entitles the owner to install up to a 10-kilowatt system at full electricity buy-back rates.

Allan Hambling has two electricity meters on his property, allowing him to double this.

“Ten kilowatts is the maximum you can put back into the grid at 60 cents a kilowatt,” Brendan Graetz explained.

“You can put in three times as much, but they'll start giving you as little as six cents a kilowatt. So, you're better off putting in a 10-kilowatt system and you get more money, which is pretty silly.”

Greater solar investment may occur if it were easier to understand the language of technology, regulations, buy-back rates and rebates.