Plans for what could be the biggest battery in Victoria – although not by much, and probably not for long – have been given the green light for development by the state Labor government, after being fast-tracked through its Development Facilitation Program.
State planning minister Sonya Kilkenny on Friday announced the “accelerated” approval of Acenergy’s 350 megawatt (MW), two-hour (700 MWh) Little River Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), on an 18-hectare site in the Victorian town of the same name.
“The battery will soak up and store cheap renewable energy during the day that can be pumped back into the electricity grid at times of peak demand, helping to deliver cheaper energy bills and reliable electricity to Victorian homes and businesses,” Kilkenny said in a statement.
Acenergy, a Victoria-based renewables and energy storage developer, says the site that will host the Little River BESS was selected for its location next to a quarry – to minimise environmental impact – and within easy access to a transmission line, to minimise the need for new grid infrastructure and cut costs.
But some members of the local community, including television personality Catriona Rowntree, have argued that it is entirely the wrong place for a battery, using up “prime agricutural” and adding fire risk in a fire-prone area.
In an article published by News Limited papers in September last year, Rowntree also argued that community consultation for the project had been poor and that the BESS “would never be approved, if it was allowed to go through the normal process of public scrutiny.”
In response to concerns about the length and depth of community consultation on the big battery, the Greater Geelong council wrote to the state government to request a three-week extension of the consultation period. The extension was granted.
The Victorian government announced in March last year that the Development Facilitation Program would be applied (from April) to solar, wind and storage projects to help the state meet its decarbonisation and renewable energy targets.
The move – which guarantees a yes or a no from the department of planning within about four months – immediately sparked concerns that the fast-track process would remove planning checks and balances, “steam roll farmers and local communities” and lead to projects being developed the wrong locations.
In particular, concerns were raised about the ruling out of third-party appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which is where the state’s renewable energy projects were winding up if their approvals were contested by community or green groups.
At the time, in response to these concerns, Kilkenny said the fast-track program was about “identifying where we can speed up the process where we maintain community consultation and ultimately deliver good decisions faster.
“So getting the good applications through, getting those approvals on good applications made more quickly to deliver on the terrific renewable energy targets and the transition that Victoria needs.”
The government says statistics show that since 2015, one in five approved renewable energy projects have gone to VCAT and that the overwhelming majority of those projects have had the initial planning department decision upheld – but not before being delayed, sometimes by years.
The Victorian government has also confirmed to Renew Economy that renewable energy projects that are subject to an Environmental Effects Statement – that is, projects that are big enough, or close enough to sensitive areas, to trigger an EES referral – can not use the DFP pathway.
In comments this week, Kilkenny says the decision to approve the Little River BESS has followed consultation with residents, stakeholders, council, the Country Fire Authority, EnergySafe Victoria and other agencies.
“Renewable energy is the cheapest form of new build energy available – that’s exactly why we’re fast-tracking decisions on projects like this, to provide cheaper and cleaner energy for more Victorians,” Kilkenny said on Friday.
As it happens, it was an Acenergy battery project that was first to be approved under Victoria’s fast-track program; the Joel Joel Battery Energy Storage Project being developed in Victoria’s Wimmera region at the same size and duration (350 MW/ 700 MWh) as the Little River BESS.
That project was approved in August of last year after just nine weeks in the planning assessment pipeline.
Both Joel Joel and Little River stand to be the equal biggest batteries in Victoria, when built – beating the a 300 MW / 450 MWh Victorian Big Battery (VBB), located at Moorabool Terminal Station – although they could soon be overtaken by the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, which is being built over three separate stages.
Not far from the Little River BESS, a 250 MW / 500 MWh battery is being developed by Elgin Energy as part of its 330 MW Barwon Solar Farm, after having its own development approval fast-tracked.
The Barwon solar and battery was also named as one of 19 winners in the first large-scale auction of federal Labor’s Capacity Investment Scheme, the Albanese government’s main policy initiative to help propel the country towards its target of 82 per cent renewables by 2030.
Elsewhere, Acenergy is developing the 250MW / 1000MWh Yanco BESS in New South Wales, 5 km south of Leeton, and the 500MW / 1000MWh Central BESS in Bouldercomb, Central Queensland.
In a statement emailed to Renew Economy on Friday, Acenergy head of of development Danny Wilkinson said the company is committed to deliver more than just power to the Little River community.
“We are confident that the 350-MW BESS will provide tremendous value toward energy stability in the region. However, it remains our priority to ensure that the residents of Little River feel that they are part of this project, and that it delivers more than just energy for them,” Wilksinson said.
“We have worked to address any concerns around the project, engaging the experts and making amendments where possible to ensure that the project is minimally disruptive.
“We remain committed to investing in the community, including $1.5 million to the Community Benefit Fund, which will be managed in close collaboration with a Community Reference Group.”
