A MAJOR almond hulling and shelling plant on Swan Hill Road at Murray Downs will be part of a green revolution in the almond industry.
Murray Downs Processing, which has not long been given the green light by Murray River Council, will be delivered in stages over the next few years by Australian Farming Services, the management company behind the Cadell, Canally and Augusta orchards.
AFS is also partnering with AGL Energy to create three bespoke renewable energy projects for its Riverina farming enterprises to end the business’s 100 per cent reliance on diesel to fuel irrigation and mains power for future processing.
Former MRC mayor Chris Bilkey, whose was at the helm when the deal went through, describes the project as “another great boost for the north-western area of the council”.
He said the orchards operate across multiple farm enterprises in the Sunraysia and Riverina areas and AFS was one of the largest connected horticultural aggregations in Australia.
“From a council perspective, this investment into our area is another positive milestone for long-term progress for the nut and almond industry which is already well established in our rural areas around Tooleybuc,” Cr Bilkey said.
“It is also a positive outcome for the Murray Downs community, which has a lot of potential to grow and become an attractive commercial and residential area across the river from Swan Hill.”
The hulling and shelling plant is designed to process 35,000 tonnes of almond kernel, with 17,500 tonnes of capacity to be installed for processing in the 2024 season.
The plant will include in-shell bagging, kernel sorting and packaging and warehousing.
A decision to expand Murray Downs Processing to the design capacity of 35,000 tonnes will be made in the future.
MRC director of planning and environment Rod Croft said the project strengthened the council’s commitment to expand the commercial potential of its north-western area.
“The facility itself will create 60-plus full-time jobs, creating growth for both the company and our local communities,’ he said.
“The almond industry has undergone rapid expansion in recent years and faces a significant shortage in almond processing capacity, so this new facility will position our area well to further support the demand for almonds both domestically and abroad.”
The announcement of AGL Energy’s Riverina partnership with AFS came within a week of AGL breaking ground at AFS’s Cadell Orchards on the construction of the first microgrid system.
AGL chief customer officer Jo Egan said the microgrid included a 5ha solar farm and 5.4MWh battery, providing enough renewable energy to power a small town.
The energy giant will also work with AFS on two further microgrid projects at its Canally Almond Orchard and Murray Downs processing facility. Both projects aim to reduce reliance on diesel, harness renewable energy sources and provide energy resilience and reliability to the company’s businesses.
Ms Egan said the expansion of the partnership to include Canally and Murray Downs operations demonstrated AGL was offering commercial and industrial customers innovative and cost-effective renewable energy solutions.
“AGL has been working with AFS to model energy usage and to design an integrated and innovative renewable energy system to lower their costs and meet their future needs across Cadell Orchards, Canally Orchards and Murray Downs Processing Plant,” she said.
“We are excited to support AFS achieve their sustainability goals and work together to complete three large renewable energy projects in the Riverina community.
“Our partnership is testament to the work we are doing in partnering with businesses to provide tailored energy solutions and support our customers to decarbonise the way they live, move and work.”
Cadell Orchards and Canally Orchards now rely on diesel generation to power its irrigation. Sccording to the modelling, the onsite microgrids will reduce that reliance by 85 per cent , slashing the orchards’ combined scope 1 CO2e emissions (a term for direct emissions) by 10,900 tonnes – that’s the equivalent of taking 3027 cars off the road.
AFS chief executive David Armstrong said with AGL’s support, the agribusinesses was transforming their farming operations to generate solar power, providing greater energy resilience for the remote area.
“We manage more than 4400ha and nearly 1.5 million trees in some of Australia’s most productive horticultural regions,” Mr Armstrong said.
“We are working closely with AGL as it designs, builds and operates the solar-powered microgrid at Cadell Orchards and Canally Orchards and delivers the almond farms an 85 per cent reduction in diesel fuel, slashing our emissions and providing substantial cost savings each year.
“As one of the largest employers in the region, these renewable energy projects provide our businesses with greater energy-price certainty and better energy reliability so we can focus on producing Australian-grown almonds.”
