Meridian proposes new wind and battery “energy park” for northern NSW

New Zealand-owned renewables developer Meridian Energy Australia has raised plans to build a two-part 130MW wind plus battery storage project in the New South Wales New England region, 40km south of Glen Innes.

The proposed project, dubbed the Rangoon Energy Park, is being put to communities in the nearby villages of Ben Lomond and Glencoe, with a scoping report due to be lodged with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment June.

Meridian, whose parent company is the largest electricity generator in New Zealand, says the proposed Energy Park meets the NSW government’s criteria as State Significant Development (SSD) and will follow the SSD planning pathway.

According to details on the company website, the project would comprise two separate wind farms, Rangoon North and South, positioned alongside the New England Highway.

The wind farms would have a proposed combined total of around 23-26+ turbines, and would connect to the National Electricity Market via two substations to be built on-site.

Meridian says the proposed project’s Battery Energy Storage System – no size or capacity yet indicated – would be located at one or both of the two project substations.

The project is at the very early stages, with an Environmental Assessment not expected to be lodged with the state government until March next year. But Meridian says it has appointed renewables specialist EPS as Development Service Provider for the project.

“This proposal will be an exciting addition to the renewable energy portfolio of MEA and will contribute to the vibrant renewable energy capacity within the Glen Innes / Guyra (Armidale) region,” the company says on the project website. https://meridianenergy.com.au/rangoonwindfarm/

Elsewhere in Australia, Meridian owns and operates the Mt Millar Wind Farm and Mt Mercer Wind Farm.

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