Cotton farms on irrigated country in New South Wales and Queensland manage water carefully. The farm office runs computers for water accounting and agronomy, a radio base for staff and contractors, a satellite or wireless internet link, and the receivers for irrigation telemetry and soil moisture probes spread across fields. During picking, the office coordinates pickers, module trucks and the gin. When a summer storm takes out the power, all of that goes with it, even though the paddocks keep needing attention.
The UPS-mode inverter keeps computers, radios and telemetry receivers running without a reset when the grid drops. A LiFePO4 battery covers the first moments, and a fuel cell takes the steady load from hydrogen stored at 30 bar or less. Hydrogen is made overnight on off-peak power or from wind and keeps for weeks. Office and comms loads are small, so the store lasts a long time.
How it works →
Cotton irrigation pumps lifting water from rivers and storages are large, often far beyond 15 kW, and the gin is an industrial plant well outside what this system is designed for. Round-trip efficiency is 30% or less, so powering those from hydrogen would not make sense. The fit here is the office, comms, telemetry, and perhaps the homestead and workshop on the same supply.
No. Cotton irrigation pumps are very large loads. The system is designed for office, comms and telemetry, and possibly the homestead and workshop within 15 kW continuous. Pumps of that size need a dedicated supply of their own.
Not because of power. With an instant switch-over, computers and telemetry keep running and logging. Your water accounting stays continuous through the outage, and irrigation telemetry keeps reporting so you can still see what is happening in the fields.
Often, yes. Office and comms loads are small, leaving room within 15 kW for the house. Air conditioning in summer is the main thing the pilot would check, since a hot afternoon with every unit running sets the peak the system must carry.
Pilot installs go to people on this list first. Rural homes, farms and remote sites especially. No spam, no payment.