IPC gives rapid approval to giant four-hour battery after long distance objectors force referral

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved development of the 250-megawatt (MW) Yanco battery energy storage system (BESS) in the state’s southwest.

Located in the Leeton Shire, 130 kilometres to the west of Wagga Wagga, the Yanco Battery Energy Storage System is under the development of Australian renewable energy developer ACEnergy.

Development approval has been granted for up to 250 MW/1,100 megawatt-hours (MWh), meaning that it will be capable of providing 250 MW of storage for over four hours.

Approval of the Yanco battery was pushed to the state Independent Planning Commission (IPC) following a raft of objections made to the NSW department of planning, housing, and infrastructure.

Under state rules, any project that receives over 50 objections must be referred to the IPC, regardless of where those objections come from.

However, as the government explained in its referral to the IPC, of the 63 objections that were raised with the Yanco battery, only five were received from within 100 kilometres of the proposed site, with 90 per cent coming from those located more than 100 kilometres away, including 17 of which were from interstate.

According to Iwan Davies, the director of energy assessments for the department of planning and environment, “there is a very low level of local interest or concern towards the project”.

The case spent only 24 days with the two-member IPC panel before it was granted approval, during which time the panel members met with key stakeholders, conducted a site inspection and locality tour, and held local meetings, hearing from five community members. Eleven written submissions were also assessed.

The Commission found that the project “would contribute positively to the State’s transition to a lower-carbon energy system and deliver benefits to the State’s electricity network by enhancing grid reliability and supporting the integration of renewable energy sources”.

A range of concerns were raised, including the typical opposition to renewable energy, fire risk, environmental and biodiversity impact, the reported “cumulative” impact from renewable energy projects, and the impact on property value and disturbances during construction.

In response, though by no means unusually for such projects, the IPC imposed several conditions.

These include the establishment and maintenance of a vegetation buffer to mitigate the visual impact and the construction of a noise wall to mitigate operational noise.

The developers must also take into account the potential or actual disrepair to roads and repair any direct impacts of construction, prepare typical fire and emergency plans, and manage workforce housing requirements to minimise impact on the local community.

Approval of the Yanco battery came days before the IPC also approved another renewable energy project, the Tallawang solar battery hybrid project near Gulgong in the state’s central west renewable zone, which had also suffered at the hands of long-distance opponents.