Completed projects and reports

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Productivity improvements through energy innovation in the Australian sugar industry : final report 2017/011
(Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2020) Welsh, J; Powell, J
Water pumping forms a significant portion of energy use in Australian irrigated agriculture. Water for Australia’s $2 billion annual sugarcane crop is from precipitation and irrigation. As an irrigated industry in a variable climate, energy is a critical input and significant cost component in the sugarcane gross margin. With approximately 90 % of irrigated sugarcane growers accessing the national electricity grid for their energy needs, exposure to some of the highest power prices in the world threatens operating margins and export competitiveness. This project examined various technology components available to reduce the cost of pumping in a micro grid situation: solar PV, diesel gensets, grid energy, wind turbine and lithium-ion batteries. The results found that economic feasibility of incorporating components to lower pumping costs was heavily influenced by Ergon grid connection policies and retail pricing, i.e. export limitations of solar PV, feed-in-tariff rate and the high cost of undertaking ‘user pays’ studies for systems above 39 kW acted as a deterrent. Putting aside grid policy barriers, the study found solar PV to be the most cost-effective technology for this purpose when tested among a range of components. For smaller, grid connected irrigation plant (under 40 kWp), incorporating solar PV systems achieved high investment returns.
Development of a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) tool for assessing the environmental benefits of progressive cane growing : SRDC Final report UQ045
(SRDC, 2012) Renouf, M; Allsopp, P
The Australian sugar industry faces continuing expectations to demonstrate environmentally sustainable sugarcane growing practices. This has been driven by moves to protect water quality (through the Australian Government’s Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and the Queensland Government’s Reef Protection Legislation), requirements to develop best-practice guidelines, and also by opportunities to participate in greenhouse gas abatement through the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative.
Biomass accumulation in sugarcane : final report 79/9028
(1984) Kingston, G; Ham, GJ; Ridge, DR; Leverington, KC
Growth analysis experiments were conducted at Ayr and Bundaberg from 1979 to 1982 to study biomass accumulation in plant and ratoon crops of sugarcane. Crops were planted and ratooned in March, June, September and December, and harvested at 6, 9, 12 and 15 months of age. Data were acquired for yields of total fresh and dry matter, in addition to yields of the following vegetative components: dry leaf, green leaf, tops and stalks. Fibre analyses were determined on all components, while glucose, fructose and sucrose % were also determined in the latter three components. It was shown that yield of total dry matter increased with age at harvest for all months of crop initiation. Potential for dry matter accumulation was closely associated with intercepted solar radiation. Growth for three months was ranked December-March > March-June > September-December > June-September. These rankings represented the interaction of crop growth stage with solar radition. The proportion of total dry matter allocated to soluble and structural carbohydrate was shown to be dependent on variety as well as an interaction between age at harvest and month of harvest. Canes older than nine months of age, harvested between June and December, had established a plateau type equilibrium between the proportion of total dry matter in soluble and structural carbohydrate. Good prospects existed for forward extension of the crushing season to March for ethanol production based on 15 month old cane. Models were developed to describe the growth of yield components of the biomass in relation to intercepted solar radition, month of crop initiation, age at harvest and crop class.

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