Grundfos solar pumps secure reliable water in the Northern Territory

Grundfos SPE solar pumps secured a reliable water supply in the Athelle Outback Hideaway, 200 km north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The water has allowed the area to become a sustainable hay farm for Northern Australia’s beef industry.  

Area temperatures regularly climb past 40° C. and rainfall averages only 5cm, and the 60-hectare farm previously relied on older diesel generators that were expensive to run, inefficient, and unreliable. In such a remote and arid location, any equipment failure is a direct threat to livestock, crops, and essential infrastructure. This created an urgent need for a reliable solar powered system that could withstand the conditions and secure the long-term future of the business.

The submersible SPE pump speed is adjustable and can respond to changing sunlight and irrigation demand throughout the day. Its permanent magnet motor and variable frequency drive requires less power than traditional pumps. For the Athelle Outback Hideaway farm, this results in an extra 40-60 minutes of daily pumping powered entirely by the sun.

Six Grundfos SPE pumps supplies water to six pivots growing a variety of hay species, as well as lemon, agave, almond, and mulberry orchards. The installation was made possible through collaboration between the property owners and the Grundfos Dealer Network, specifically Think Water Alice Springs. Leveraging their strong local knowledge of the Northern Territory’s unique water challenges, Think Water played a key role in recommending the Grundfos SPE pump as the most reliable solution for the property’s extreme conditions.

According to the farm’s owners, switching to the solar integrated system has cut diesel generator costs and saved about 100,000 liters of fuel and more than AU $210,000/year.