Biggest winner of Bowen’s capacity tender faces more scrutiny after opponents force referral to IPC

The Valley of the Wind project in the central west of NSW, the biggest project among the 19 winners of the federal government’s first generation capacity auction, has been referred to the Independent Planning Commission because of the number of objections.

The 936 megawatt (MW) project is proposed for either side of Black Stump Way between Coolah and Dunedoo, and is to be built by Philippines-based Acen Renewables. The IPC document reveals that it will also include a 320 MW, 640 MWh battery that was not cited in the announcement of tender winners.

Acen has already completed the first stage of what will be – at least for a time – the biggest solar project in Australia, the 720 MW New England facility near Uralla in northern NSW, and is adding a 200 MW, 400 MWh battery to that project.

It is also building the 400 MW Stubbo solar project in the state’s central west and last month won a landmark tender for long duration storage for its proposed Phoenix pumped hydro project – sized at 800 megawatt (MW) and 15 hours of storage (11,900 MWh) – near Mudgee.

But the referral to the IPC adds another headache for a company still battling to get approval for its controversial Robbins Island wind project, which has had to battle local opposition and multiple legal challenges, and is still waiting for a decision from the federal government under the EPBC Act.

That decision has been delayed multiple times, and is now not likely to be made until after the federal election due in May.

The referral of Valley of the Winds to the IPC is not unusual, given that there is an almost formulaic opposition to new wind and solar projects in NSW, with many forced to go through the IPC process. The Warrumbungle local council has also objected.

The IPC said in a statement on Thursday that a public meeting on the project will be held in Coolah on April 10 (it will also be live streamed) and submissions will close on April 17.

“Commissioners Richard Pearson, Suellen Fitzgerald and Sarah Dinning have been appointed by the Commission Chair to determine the development application,” it said in a statement.

“The key issues identified in the Department’s whole-of-government assessment of the development application include issues associated with energy transition, biodiversity, visual impacts, traffic and transport.”

It has access to submissions already made to the government planning department. An assessment of those submissions noted that 107 had been received, with 59 per cent in the local area, and 11 from interstate, including three from the Northern Territory. All but seven of the submissions objected to the project.

The most common matters raised included concerns around landscape character and visual amenity, hazards and risks (aviation), economic, biodiversity and noise and vibration.

The local council objected because a planning agreement had not been finalised, while the Muswellbrook council also objected, after deadline, saying it will oppose all transport of equipment for state significant projects through its region until EnergyCo provides a satisfactory solution to the issue.

In response to the submissions, the report notes that some changes have already been made, including to layout, the removal of one overhead transmission line and changes to access routes.

The proposed wind farm would be located in three clusters between Coolah and Leadville on both sides of the Black Stump Way, within the Warrumbungle local government area and Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ).

It is not far from the also contested 1.3 GW Liverpool Range wind project, that only recently gained final planning approval.

The IPC says the Valley of the Winds project, should it go ahead, is expected to create up to 400 construction and 50 operational jobs. It is also expected to generate enough renewable energy to power up to 519,000 homes per year.