The sheep farmer who turned a 1800 call to coal giant AGL into a major solar grazing deal

Tony Inder says he doesn’t “know renewables,” but over the past few years, he’s discovered something about solar panels that the energy experts often overlook.

A sixth-generation sheep farmer from Wellington in central-west New South Wales, Inder has always loved the land – and sheep. But more recently, he’s become what he calls a “solar sheep grazier.”

Through this transition, Inder has come to realise that renewables aren’t just about cutting emissions. When landowners and communities are involved from the start, they can be a powerful economic driver for rural Australia.

“I love the handle, the feel of wool. I always have,” he told the SwitchedOn podcast. “My favourite day of the year is the day I class up the young ewes to sort.”

But Inder’s world shifted when solar developers came knocking – drawn by the flat terrain and the proximity of his merino sheep farm to the Wellington electricity substation. That’s when he found himself at the frontline of Australia’s energy transition.

The first approach came as a flyer in the mailbox.

“I thought [they’d want] five or ten acres. But the bloke said, ‘No, mate. I want your whole property.’”

The offer? Close to a million dollars a year to lease the property for 40 years, indexed to CPI, with a 15-year extension. But there was a catch – no money upfront.

“It was incredibly tempting,” Inder admits given he and his wife were heavily in debt. “But there was no goodwill payment, nothing to show they were serious – and I think that’s important.”

He wasn’t just concerned about money though. As a working farmer, he worried about open gates, damaged crops, and misplaced sheep. His suggestion of a token fee per vehicle that came on to the property, while the developers assessed the property, was flatly rejected.

Then came another red flag – the developer’s registered office turned out to be a vacant lot in Adelaide.
It became clear to Inder that the developer’s plan was to acquire land options and on-sell them, with little guarantee the projects would go ahead.

“He let slip he was trying to sign 20 projects, and hoped two would actually happen. We didn’t like those odds.”

Inder turned down that deal and others that followed, all of which offered him leases, not sales, and little up-front security. He and his family had borrowed heavily to buy their property. If they were going to pivot to renewables, they wanted to sell and start again elsewhere.

Then, in 2017, Inder heard AGL was preparing to close its Liddell coal-fired power station. He cold-called the company’s 1 800 number.

“When the lady on the other end asked if I was ringing to connect to solar, I simply said, ‘No, I’m just wondering if you guys are.’”

“A week later, the CEO of AGL’s solar department was sitting at our kitchen table.”

Negotiations stretched over 12 months, and eventually, Inder signed a $10 million deal – double the land’s market value – with $400,000 paid upfront as a show of good faith.

Crucially, he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement and insisted on the right to speak openly with his neighbours about the sale, and why.

For Inder it was really important to maintain those relationships. He wanted to avoid what had happened on other projects in the area.

“There are families that have been friends for generations who now are no longer friends anymore because of the secrecy around deals being done.”

In fact, Inder wasn’t even aware that two of his neighbours had already signed similar solar deals. One project bordered his land for 4 kilometres and he’d had no contact from the developer.

Solar grazing

It wasn’t until panels started going up next door that Inder saw a surprising opportunity. He could see that green grass was growing under the panels every time it rained, and there was none on his side of the fence.

“I had a had a beer down at the local pub with the site manager at the time, and he was explaining to me that they were looking at mowing the [solar farm] six times a year at a cost of $90,000 per mow.”

That beer turned into a collaboration. Inder suggested using sheep to manage the grass under the panels instead of expensive mowing.

Today, Inder grazes around 2,000 merino sheep across two solar farms, where the sheep get constant shade and shelter, and the solar operator has slashed mowing costs to a single pass per year.

“The sheep thrive. They absolutely love the panels during the summer – everywhere they go there’s shade. There’s constantly green food underneath them.”

The microclimate under the panels also retains moisture longer, giving grass a better chance to establish and persist through dry spells.

But Inder says he doesn’t just have happy sheep, the quality of the wool and the wood yield has improved.
A recent trial that compared the wool from 50 sheep grazing under panels and 50 outside, found a 20% increase in the wool cut from sheep under the panels.

The only drawback to solar sheep grazing? Mustering can take longer because the sheep don’t want to come out of the shade.

“Sheep are a lot smarter than people think,” says Inder. “By 8.30am the panels tilt and you can’t see the sheep.”

Trust, transparency, and the need for support

Inder’s story highlights both the promise and the pitfalls of renewables in regional Australia.

A new guidebook, developed by NSW Farmers, the Queensland Farmers Federation and the NSW government has recently been released which is designed to help landholders understand renewable energy agreements, land use restrictions, construction impacts, and compensation.

It will hopefully help empower farmers in negotiations with renewable energy companies.

And whilst he believes the situation is improving, Inder says many companies are failing to gain the trust of rural communities, partly because they’re focused on ticking boxes rather than building genuine partnerships.

“They’re professional negotiators. Their job is to answer your questions and get you over the line. Once you’ve signed, you don’t see them again.”

Inder has been dismayed to hear other farmers say they’ve signed deals for as little as $5,000 a year – often with a caveat placed on the land that prevents resale.

Banks can also be another barrier. The biggest hurdle for Inder doing a deal with AGL was getting their bank to sign off. They weren’t happy about not being able to sell the land if things went bad financially.

Inder supports proposals by groups like RE-Alliance to establish local regional energy hubs which would provide neutral advice to farmers and communities negotiating with energy companies.

Rather than a sales pitch, the hubs could provide the facts of renewable development in the regions: “It’d be great to have somewhere that just lays out the pluses and minuses.”

Inder is optimistic about the potential for agrisolar in Australia. Done right, he believes it can be a win-win – for farmers, for renewable energy companies, and for the climate.

But it requires more than just access to land. It requires respect, transparency, and real engagement with the people who know the land best.

You can hear the full interview with Tony Inder on the latest episode of the SwitchedOn Australia podcast.