Agrisolar Newsletter #2
In this month’s issue, please find lots of important dates to save below, as well as a few spotlights on some foundational partners!
Foundational Partner Spotlight:
Stephen Todd
Founder, VoltFarmer (Australia)
VoltFarmer creates regenerative projects combining renewable energy, regenerative farming, natural capital enhancement, economic opportunities and positive social impact.
Stephan Ong
Co-Founder, SunBioSys (Netherlands)
Based in Holland, SunBioSys is venturing into renewable energy projects by combining agricultural activities and solar power, developing projects which encompass a symbiosis of Photovoltaic energy and Agriculture to achieve sustainable dual use of land.
Agrisolar as a system design solution
The team has been working on the development of a system diagram for agrisolar in practice! This one-panel diagram is a resource that explains the uses and possibilities of agrisolar on a farm and in the community.
Coming soon!
Project planning support in time for Stage 1 bid submission (anticipated to be March 2025)
We will be developing and disseminating a ‘Plan on a Page’ template for use among our foundational partnership members very soon.
This template will help you:
Scope the project/s you would like to submit in the CRC Bid Stage 1
Form and/or solidify the partnerships within the CRC that you would like to pursue via one or more projects
Align your projects with the identified research priorities for the CRC should we receive the federal go-ahead in 2026
Give a baseline of how much your in-kind contribution needs to be at the project level.
In turn, this will help the bid team identify and refine the first 3 years of CRC projects. If you have long-form projects in your thoughts too, that’s great! Do tell us about them and the bid working group can assist to refine your ideas and match you within the network if you need some gaps filled.
Upcoming bid-building workshops and visits:
Wednesday 16 October, 8.30am-2pm, WSU Parramatta City Campus
Industry CRC Vision Co-Design Workshop
Research Partner Project Principles Workshop
Other important dates:
Industry EOIs close on 31 October. See instructions to lodge your preliminary EOI here if you have not already.
Research Partner EOIs close 30 November. See instructions to lodge your preliminary EOI here if you have not already.
Conference watch: Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference (3-5 December)
The focus of the 2024 APSRC is to provide a platform for researchers in solar energy and related fields to present their research, exchange information and foster collaboration to further the uptake of renewable energy throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Learn more >>
Dr Madeleine Taylor (Macquarie University) and team have released the ‘Agrivoltaics in NSW Workshop Report: Investigating legal, policy,market & technological barriers'.
Curious about biodiversity and utility scalesolar? Check out this excellent guide from The Community Power Agency (CPA): ‘Building Better Biodiversity on Solar Farms: A regenerative guide to nature-positive solar farming’