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Prawn farmers responding to Australia’s changing climate

Prawn farmers responding to Australia’s changing climate. Brian Paterson Bribie Island Research Centre Brian.Paterson@deedi.qld.gov.au Sarah Miller CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Helen Jenkins APFA. The Farm-Ready Project. This project is looking at energy use on prawn farms

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Prawn farmers responding to Australia’s changing climate

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  1. Prawn farmers responding to Australia’s changing climate Brian Paterson Bribie Island Research Centre Brian.Paterson@deedi.qld.gov.au Sarah Miller CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Helen Jenkins APFA

  2. The Farm-Ready Project • This project is looking at energy use on prawn farms • Funded through the Federal Gov’t “Farm Ready” program • Helping farmer’s adapt to climate change • For prawn farms, energy is inseparable from climate change

  3. The project milestones • June 30th 2010 “Plan” Finalise scope of info required by farmers (impacts, mitigation, adaptation) • April 30th 2011 energy report, draft project report (delayed by Yasi) • August 31st 2011 final project report (set back to December)

  4. This talk • Why “energy change”? • How do prawn farms use energy? • What have we found so far? • What does this mean for carbon footprints?

  5. Energy change?

  6. Why “Energy Change”? • Powering tomorrow's prawn farms • Why power? • Because other Climate change adaptation is under way • Impacts and responses to “Climate change” are identified in the next slide. • There are not many surprises there…

  7. Climate change & Prawn farms

  8. How do farms use the energy?

  9. The Power Grab • The state grid has to be upgraded and expanded to cope with expected growth in demand • In coming decades, unless they vote with their feet, farmers will be indirectly “investing” in mainstream energy sources in a big way. • So before signing up to that, it is worth looking at ALL the options from the farmers point of view.

  10. Data collection/Farm visits • Monthly consumption • Electricity, fuel and gas bills for the 2009/2010 financial year (production season) • Annual demand • Lists of equipment, wattage/fuel consumption; hours and days of operation • Other information • Tariffs, previous energy studies, farming practices, impacts of floods/ cyclones

  11. Draft report- Local/renewable energy • Electricity is the main energy demand, Diesel/LPG provide heating loads • Reliability of electricity supply is fundamental (continuous aeration needed) • Farm expansion would often strain the grid! $$$ • Close alignment with solar radiation and wind maps (and tidal - near Mackay) • Co-location of sugar and prawn industries (burning cane trash in mills/ “green” power) • Hatcheries - augment heating with solar thermal systems

  12. Towards a Carbon footprint?

  13. So MUCH electricity???!!! Box 1. Simple electricity-based carbon footprint for a 50 hectare prawn farm Estimated Electricity use 4000 MWh/yr Carbon Footprint 4200 t CO2/yr (using 1 MWh= 1.05 t CO2) Convert to elemental carbon (x 0.27277) 1145.6 t C/yr Per hectare 22.9 t C/ha/yr Indicative carbon capture rate for plantation timber (from Garnaut report) ~8 t C/ha/yr Assuming no other factors- To offset the electricity, each hectare of pond needs ~3 hectares of growing trees • Intensive prawn farms must have the highest energy use of all livestock practices • How much is 4 Gigawatt hours? • 25 GWh a year would get you into “Australia’s 1000 biggest carbon polluters” • We can convert 4GWh into carbon- that’s the simple backbone of a carbon footprint (Box) • But total energy use is NOT the full story-

  14. Carbon INTENSITY is King!!! • Carbon intensity will be a key measure in your new carbon footprint project • That’s the CO2 equivalents associated with each tonne of prawns you produce (from energy, feed manufacture etc, environmental cycling, and offsets). • That’s what your buyers and consumers will soon want to know.

  15. Conclusions

  16. Conclusions • Draft findings available to date • Energy demand at prawn farms is large and dominated by electricity use (by paddlewheels) • The industry aligns well with certain renewable energy sources (sugar mills, solar, wind) • This electricity produces a LOT of prawns in a very small area- the carbon intensity will probably be favourable • Further energy efficiencies can probably be pursued, • Regional power companies may find it easy to work with a few large users of energy rather than many, many small ones

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