- We have approximately 1000 breeding cows that equates to about anything between two and a half and three thousand head of cattle on a property at any one time. Basically our main income in the last couple of years has been livestock.
- Berembed Station's one of the oldest stations in the Riverina, they're a big cattle station, so he came to us to look at putting solar on the station, to help offset some of their running costs for pumps and their workshop, so we helped develop a system to save them some money in the farm.
- We were noticing the big savings for us is all those summer months when we're using the water. I reckon our power bill is 50% cheaper over summer than what it was before.
- [Alex] Berembed Station has quite a large homestead, and they have quite a big irrigation system. They also have a number of cottages for the workers there, and another big bore pump that is used for irrigation and stock water, so they have quite a large power consumption for the property.
- The panels he put up I know got better and better over the years, he recommended, I think the LG panels and we haven't had an issue at all with them. I think it comes down to longevity, we're out in the bush here, we don't want to be mucking around with things failing us, so always tend to look for the better quality machinery and suppliers, it was a no brainer for us, we'd rather buy something that we know is going to have a better lifespan.
- [Alex] Yeah so we did some maintenance there today at Berembed Station, and we just checked some of the array voltages, checked for the cables, make sure everything, all the frame was secure, we do take care in making sure our systems are performing well and that our customers are getting that maximum result that they paid their money for.
- Being a local fella's a huge advantage for us too, there's plenty of solar companies around that can come and go from Sydney, or Melbourne, or Brisbane, or wherever, but being a local supplier, that meant a lot to us with local employees.
- This is one of the things, we want to make sure we build that relationship with customers. That's what we enjoy the most about working in the Riverina we have those solid foundation relationships.
- A lot of guys I know, are always surprised that more people haven't got solar on. Maybe the initial cost upsets them a little bit, but really the payback period is insignificant, we're talking about three or four years and you're done and dusted, then your power's a hell of a lot cheaper.
How did high quality solar help Berembed Station reduce the costs of their cattle farming operations?
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