Big battery in heart of New England gets planning green light from state government

The New South Wales government has given the planning green light to the $209 million Armidale battery energy storage system (BESS), which will boast capacity of 150 megawatts (MW)/437 megawatt-hours (MWh).

The Armidale BESS is set to be built approximately 5 kilometres east of city of the same name in the New England region of NSW, connecting into the nearby Armidale 330kV transmission substation to soak up excess energy from the electricity grid during non-peak periods.

Planning consent was approved on December 5 and announced late last week under a State Significant Development application, citing “a range of benefits” that the project will provide for the region and the state of NSW as a whole.

Construction of the project is expected to create up to 100 jobs, and developer Valent Energy Developments will also provide a lump sum of $1.275 million to the local Armidale Regional Council through the project’s Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA), to be followed by a further $1.275 million over the life of the project.

Valent has also committed to providing annual contributions totalling $400,000 to upkeep and enhancement of the New England Rail Trail over a period of 20 years.

“Not only will this project strengthen our energy network, it will deliver real and lasting benefits for the community, supporting local jobs, funding local facilities, and investing in projects people here rely on every day,” said Peter Primrose, Northern Tablelands Duty MLC.

“The contributions secured for community infrastructure and the New England Rail Trail show how renewable energy projects can deliver more than clean power they can deliver for communities.”

The Armidale BESS is not to be confused with the 400 MW/1,760 MWh Gara BESS also being built nearby, which remains in the NSW planning queue.

The government originally exhibited the project’s environmental impact statement in late-2023, receiving 29 objections from the general public as well as two objections from special interest groups.

According to the NSW department of planning, housing, and infrastructure, the “key issues raised in objection were the reliability of renewable energy sources, hazards and fire risk and social and economic factors.

“Other concerns included impacts on amenity, adverse impacts on mental and physical health, loss of agricultural land, loss of habitat and subsequent impacts on local wildlife, and whether imported BESS components would be ethically sourced.”

In response to the submissions, Valent amended its application earlier this year to reconfigure the project slightly to include upgrades to roads and the addition of noise walls around the BESS and transformers within the on-site substation.

A subsequent amendment addressed what is described as “a clerical error”, revising the energy storage capacity from 150 MW/300 MWh to 150 MW/437 MWh. The same amendment has yet to be made to the Armidale BESS website.

The department concluded that the Armidale BESS will “result in benefits to the state of NSW” and considered the project to be “in the public interest.”

“Large-scale batteries are key to a stronger, more reliable energy network,” said Paul Scully, state minister for planning and public spaces.

“This is a major capital investment, creating jobs and providing Armidale Regional Council more than $2.5 million to invest in local community projects over the next 20 years.

“Over the next decade regional councils will receive hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on their communities following the Minns Labor Government’s introduction of community benefit sharing requirements for renewable energy projects.

“The approval of the Armidale large-scale battery adds to a long list of approved clean energy projects that will power our renewable energy future.”

See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia for more information.

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