Independent panel approves gigawatt scale battery three months after local opponents force referral

The NSW Independent Planning Commission has given approval to a gigawatt-scale standalone battery project south of Tamworth, just three months after it was referred because of the number of opponents.

Spanish giant Iberdrola wants to build the 270 megawatts (MW) / 1,080 megawatt-hours (MWh) Kingswood battery just six kilometres south-east of Tamworth.

It attracted more than 60 public objections, but unlike other many other renewable and battery proposals referred to the IPC, it included a strong local element (around half of objections) mostly because of two other big batteries also proposed close to the local substation.

The nearby 250 MW, 500 MWh, Calala battery, owned by Equis Australia, which has won an underwriting deal with the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme,has already begun construction, and Valent Energy’s 200 MW, 400 MWh Tamworth battery project is just up the road from Kingswood.

The IPC said in a statement this week that it had met with the local council, the department of planning and the applicant, conducted a site inspection and locality tour, received 15 written submissions from the public and held a local meeting where it heard from four members of the community. 

In its statement of reasons for the decision, the commission said it found that “the application is consistent with statutory requirements, is consistent with NSW Government policies and potential impacts can be managed or mitigated through the imposition of conditions of consent”.

It says the project is expected to generate around 100 jobs during construction, and two ongoing jobs during operations, inject $3.25 million of funding into the local community, is well sited near a substation and the main New England Highway, and will have “minimal impact” on the environment and agriculture.

The report says that issues over visual impacts, road transport, fire risk, contamination and rehabiltation had all been addressed.

Kingswood has been one of a number of standalone battery projects referred to the IPC in recent times, including the Deniliquin battery, which was also quickly approved after being referred to the IPC on the weight of long distance objectors and no local pushback. The Yanco big battery was also approved last year.

A decision on another big battery project, the Hume battery near Albury, is still pending, while the Steel River big battery, located near the city of Newcastle, has recently been referred to the IPC on the weight of more than 60 objections, but none from anyone living within 90 kms of the proposed project.

Under NSW planning rules, any project that attracts 50 objections is automatically referred to the IPC. Some cases still go to court, with a case brought against the Hills of Gold wind project by Tamworth Regional Council due to start on Friday.

Iberdrola also owns the smaller Lake Bonney battery in South Australia and the Smithfield battery in NSW, and has a number of other big battery projects in development, including the Gin Gin battery in Queensland which has been subject to a “call in” notice from the state planning minister.

If you wish to support independent media, and accurate information, please consider making a one off donation or becoming a regular supporter of Renew Economy. Please click here. Your support is invaluable.