Rural New Zealand's Energy Challenge
Rural New Zealand grapples with a multitude of challenges within its energy landscape. The primary issues include limited access to reliable power sources, outdated infrastructure, and the extensive distances between population centres.
These challenges collectively contribute to significant energy disparities, posing obstacles to economic development, hindering access to essential services, and diminishing the overall quality of life in rural areas.
Over the past 30 years, New Zealand's electricity demand and supply system has evolved in response to economic growth, population changes, technological advancements, and environmental policies of the time. The electricity network, or ‘the system’ so to speak, is struggling to keep up, and while New Zealand’s amount of renewable energy is good for the environment, the challenges in expanding the network to meet increasing demand are likely to drive electricity prices higher in the future.
The Energy Trap: quietly increasing prices that cost you more than you think.
You’ve probably felt it – your energy bills are rising faster than your main source of income. Electricity is becoming an increasingly significant cost. Despite investing in more efficient systems and smarter farming, your bill keeps climbing.
It's not out of the question that the cost of electricity could double over the next 10 years.
The system has less than 10% excess available at a time when most commercial and industrial users are being encouraged to electrify. The move from carbon intensive energy sources to electricity is only putting further pressure on New Zealand’s electricity supply.
Customer owned and managed systems are now a real option to ensure quality and continuity of supply for customers.
Why Farmlands FLEX?
FLEX is a forward-looking energy solution designed to give customers control and reduce current energy costs while preparing farms and businesses for the long-term transition from petrol and diesel to electric alternatives.
At its core, FLEX integrates existing and new solar power, battery storage, load management, and intelligent controls into modular microgrid systems. This platform enables users to generate, store, and manage their own energy on-site—using it how and when it best suits their operations and to meet the ever growing needs of the electricity market.
Over time, clients gain access to critical usage data and system performance insights, empowering them to make informed decisions about scaling or optimisng their energy systems.
Through FLEX, distributed energy users are seamlessly connected into the energy market to monetise surplus electricity via contacted export rates or access to the spot market, and dynamically respond to market signals accessing demand response programs. The result is a smarter, more sustainable, and economically viable approach to energy that ensures maximum return on investment both now and in decades to come.
Beyond Solar
Fully managed microgrid using solar, batteries and smart software.
Market Ready
Turn energy into revenue with demand response and dynamic export
Built for Resilience
Handle rural grid challenges such as energy backup and forecasting.
Smarter Over Time
Ongoing optimisation via our real-time user-friendly dashboard.
Scalable and Connected
Grow and connect systems through distributed generation.
Farmlands FLEX is on a mission to electrify rural NZ: Accelerating the electrification of rural New Zealand by combining on-farm energy generation and storage with smart controls to reduce emissions, strengthen grid resilience, and enable participation in the energy market.
The Platform Advantage
FLEX is more than a solar and battery system—it’s an intelligent, scalable, revenue-generating energy platform that adapts to your operations, participates in the energy market, and increases resilience.
A solar only system, by itself, is limited to hardware & installation only, missing out on energy intelligence, market value, and ongoing optimisation. It maybe cheaper upfront, but will not deliver the medium to long-term value achieved with FLEX.
Farmlands FLEX - Delivering real results
Central Otago Packhouse
System: 268kW roof mount PV solar & 84.8kWh battery
$ 53,590 annual energy value ($54,140 current annual electricity bill)
- $ 25,111 annual savings,
- $ 28,479 export revenue.
4.48% ROI.
6yrs 10mth payback.
40% self-powered.
Canterbury Dairy Farm with Irrigation
System: 130kW ground mount PV solar with battery ready inverter for the irrigation.
$ 27,551 annual energy value ($17,250 current annual electricity bill)
- $ 18,735 annual savings,
- $ 8,816 export revenue.
18.15% ROI.
5yrs 7mth payback.
35% self-powered.
South Waikato Dairy Farm
System: 42.2kW roof mount PV solar battery ready hybrid inverter.
$ 12,238 annual energy value ($37,390 current annual electricity bill),
- $ 27,669 annual savings,
- $ 9,721 export revenue.
19.35% ROI.
5yrs 4mth payback.
25% self-powered.