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Nursery growers can buy more, spend less with QRIDA

23 March 2025

By QRIDA Regional Area Manager for South East Queensland and the Lockyer Valley, Brian Coe

Energy efficiency is crucial to the long-term productivity and profitability of plant nurseries, with on-farm upgrades widely shown to significantly reduce power, energy bills, and emissions.

For example, an energy efficiency audit carried out by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) found a South East Queensland nursery could save $2,895 and 15,330 kWh per year by investing in an energy efficient upgrade. 

When setting out to improve your farm’s energy efficiency, it’s important to first understand your energy usage and costs, such as through an energy audit, and ensure you’ve got the best tariff. Then you can identify on-farm energy efficient improvements. 

Here’s five on-farm energy efficient upgrades eligible nursery growers could consider:

1. Pumping and irrigation: Upgrading pumps and irrigation designs can make a big difference to both your water and energy efficiency. For example, modern pumps such as Variable Frequency Drive pumps are popular amongst some growers to control pump speed based on pressure.
2. Heating and cooling: Improve your nursery’s heating and cooling such as by upgrading to energy-efficient heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, upgrading greenhouse insulation, and investing in solar systems.
3. Combine solar with batteries: Implement battery storage with solar to ensure you have a reliable energy source and avoid your dependency on the grid. 
4. Lighting: Switch to energy efficient lighting such as LED systems. 
5. Shade screens: Install shade screens to retain heat in greenhouses and reduce energy consumption. 

A concessional QRIDA Sustainability Loan of up to $1.3 million can help eligible nursery growers fund on-farm energy efficient upgrades. 

Visit QRIDA's Sustainability Loan webpage or call QRIDA on 1800 623 946 to find out more about how you can power more and spend less with QRIDA. Visit the Queensland Ag Energy Hub website to find out more about energy information for farmers. 

Note: The case study referred to in this article is a Queensland Ag Energy Hub case study. The Queensland Ag Energy Hub is managed by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and was funded by the Queensland Government.