Long-distance renewable opponents force solar and battery hybrid project to go to independent panel

Submissions from nearly 100 mostly anti-renewable campaigners have forced a new solar and battery hybrid project to be referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission, even though they all live more than 50 kms away from the project.

Recurrent Energy is seeking to build the 360 megawatt (MW) Sundown solar farm, paired with a 150 MW, 600 megawatt hour (MWh) battery. It is located near the existing White Rock and Sapphire wind farms between Glen Innes and Inverrel, and is on sparsely populated land with no homes within 2.1 kms of the site.

The state department of planning says the project is “approvable”, and the local council and other authorities have no objections, but the fact that there are 128 objectors has forced its referral to the IPC.

Some 88 of these objectors live more than 50 kms from the site, and 7 of these are interstate, while another 23 live between 15 and 50 kms from the site. Most oppose the renewable energy transition and the use of agricultural land, although some were also worried about noise and visual impacts.

Nine objectors live within 5 kms and have raised concerns about road use and traffic impacts, along with fire risk, water supply, dust and noise. They also complained about a lack of consultation from the developers.

Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of solar manufacturing giant Canadian Solar and one of the world’s largest utility-scale solar and energy storage developers, has been seeking to develop the Sundown Solar Farm for several years.

The project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was originally exhibited in mid-2023, but suffered delays as it sought to obtain a landowner’s consent for road upgrades to a key section of the haulage route near the site.

This meant that Recurrent Energy was only able to submit its response to community feedback in June of last year, in which it scaled back the land area affected by the project and avoided local native habitats.

The project, located in the New England renewable energy zone, has secured grid connection approvals. The project will connect to an existing 330 kV transmission line that already traverses the site.

Recurrent says the project avoids Class 1 agricultural areas, and just 3 hectares of class 2 land, and the property owner will be able to continue grazing activities, and cropping in neighbouring fields.

It notes that the combined total of operating, approved and proposed solar farms in the New England region amounts to about 11,569 ha, or 0.018 per cent of the 63 million ha of land currently used for agricultural output in NSW.

“Given the nature and scale of the established agricultural industries within the region, the project would result in a negligible reduction in the overall agricultural productivity of the region,” it writes.

The Independent Planning Commission is inviting the public to make written submissions via the Make a Submission portal on the Commission’s website. Written submissions will be accepted until 11:59PM (AEST) on Wednesday 8 July 2026.

Verbal submissions will also be accepted at a public meeting on the Sundown Solar Farm to be held at the Elsmore Memorial Hall on July 1. The project will connect to an existing 330 kV transmission line that traverses the site.

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