Landholder-led 4-hour big battery gets federal environmental all-clear in just over four weeks

A big battery project being proposed for construction in western Victoria by a group of farming landholders and a Tasmanian renewable energy developer has been been given the environmental all-clear by the federal government.

The up to 500 megawatt (MW) and four-hour duration (2,000 megawatt-hour) Murchs Corner battery energy storage system (BESS) was ushered through the EPBC queue this week after being determined “not a controlled action” by the federal environment minister.

The decision marks good time for both the department and the project, which only joined the queue in late March, seeking approval to install the BESS in Victoria’s Moyne Shire and connect it to the existing 500 kV Moorabool to Mortlake transmission line.

As the EPBC referral documents state, the BESS is being developed in partnership between the farming landowners and Alternate Path – a developer that claims “significant experience” and a firm understanding of compliance requirements with environmental laws and protections at a utility-scale.

As Renew Economy has reported, the Murchs Corner landholder proponents are Bobby and Clive Jamieson, according to the December engagement report included in the EPBC file. 

The referral says community discussions had already resulted in the footprint of the project being shifted slightly and a new choice of entryway, to minimise the BESS’ impact on traffic and views. 

“The Proposed Action has been carefully designed and planned to avoid environmental impacts to the fullest extent possible,” the referral says.

“The Project will be located on existing cleared agricultural land that is dominated by introduced species and avoids nearby creeks, except where existing tracks and electrical infrastructure cross through a watercourse and may need some upgrading.

“Importantly, there will be no direct impacts to matters of national environmental significance (MNES). Indirect impacts to MNES and local environmental values have been substantially avoided and minimised, and such are not considered to be significant.”

Alternate Path is also progressing a landowner-led wind farm and battery proposal in central Tasmania that is seeking to approach community benefits a little differently, targeting individuals’ back pockets and by ensuring the visual impact is as low as possible. 

Six landowners are involved in planning the 56-turbine, 350 megawatt (MW) Cellars Hill wind farm and a massive 600 MW/ 2400 MWh battery, which in February major project status from the Tasmanian government. 

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