Nectar Farms has announced a A$565 million ($429 million) expansion of its new hydroponics business near Stawell, Australia, in the Victoria’s western districts, that will include a 196-megawatt wind farm and 20-megawatt of battery storage and make it 100 per cent renewable-powered.
Nectar Farms will expand its 10-hectare state-of-the-art hydroponic glasshouse and plant technology to 40 hectares to supply vegetables to local and international markets.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the project will make Stawell Nectar Farms the world's first ever protected crop farm completely powered by renewable energy.
Nectar is not the only vegetable grower to turn to renewables energy. In South Australia, Sundrop Farms is being powered, and provided with heat and desalinated water, through a 30-megawatt solar tower power plant.
And in north Queensland, the Korean owned zinc refiner Sun Metals is underpinning a planned expansion of its refinery by building a 110-megawatt solar farm to reduce its electricity bills.