Massive six-hour battery project seeks federal green tick for site in Victoria’s main coal hub

Renewable and storage developer Res Australia has taken the unusual step of broadcasting the arrival of its Bunyip North battery in the federal green queue, a six hour storage project on the main trunk line from Gippsland’s coal hub to Melbourne.

The 400 megawatt (MW), 2,400 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery is directly next to Ampyr’s proposed 750 MW, 3,000 MWh Wimpole battery, which is further along the development application track but yet to venture into the federal EPBC process.

The two projects are tucked in between three big transmission lines taking power from the two remaining Latrobe Valley coal power stations to Melbourne – and, one day, electricity generated by offshore wind as well. They are just two of 31 batteries vying for space on Gippsland’s powerful network.

The rural location was chosen to avoid other places that have sensitive environmental claims, or that are close to homes, says Res director Greg Wilkinson. 

“Extensive environmental studies have confirmed the project is unlikely to have a significant impact on nationally protected species or habitats, and that gives us confidence as the project progresses through the assessment process,” he said in a statement. 

“Battery storage is critical to supporting Victoria’s clean energy transition, and we’re committed to delivering this project in a way that respects the local environment and community.”

Most renewable and storage developers are shy about publicly announcing their EPBC approval efforts, but Res chose to put out a release on its application.

Construction is pencilled in for mid-2027 and is expected to take around 24 months, with a commissioning date scheduled for mid-2029. Res will need about 75 people to put the whole thing together.

On the site, but not where the battery will sit, are three farm dams and a stream named Cannibal Creek, a name that Monash University website Victorian Places says is either from the Aboriginal word for blackfellow, kanni, or possibly due to the killing of dogs by dingos.

Res says it’s keeping all three dams, as two are being taken over by native plants, and it’s put a 200m buffer between the battery pad and all of the water features.

After years of intensive farming, and the 2010-11 bushfires that swept through the area leaving dead trees in the northern corner, there isn’t much left with native ecological value on the site, the EPBC referral says.

So far, the environmental studies have been desktop based, while a one day field study of the site uncovered no endangered plants.

The desktop work points to the presence of endangered or vulnerable plants and animals being “potential” or “likely”, including dwarf galaxias, glossy grass skink, southern brown bandicoot, growling grass frog, swamp skink, fork-tailed swift, Latham’s snipe, rufous fantail, and white-throated needletails.

What Res has done is take its ecology team’s recommendations on board in full, suggestions that include the 200m buffer from waterways and installing animal and frog exclusion fencing.

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