Plans to build a nearly 500 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the north-eastern wheatbelt region of Western Australia have cleared another hurdle after being waved through federal environmental approvals process.
The federal environment department this week gave the all-clear to Parron wind farm, determining that a full EPBC assessment is not required.
The project has also been cleared by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and, according to its website, has secured state development approval and submitted a grid connection application with Western Power.
The 489 MW Parron wind farm is proposed for around 8 km north-west of Badgingarra, and roughly 200 km north of Perth, where it will connect to Western Australia’s main grid, the South West Integrated System (SWIS).
The plan is for up to 79 Vestas wind turbines to be installed across 8,400 hectares of agricultural land currently used for pastoral grazing and cropping – the traditional lands of the Yued People.
The project website says the wind farm has the potential to be expanded further to a capacity of up to 648 MW and could also include a battery energy storage system in the future.
The project’s developers say the site is exposed to some of the best wind capacity factors in the southern hemisphere – a resource that has been tapped by a number of other wind projects, already.
The 130 MW Badgingarra wind farm, operational since 2019, is located immediately adjacent to the proposed Parron project and regularly features in Rystad Energy’s monthly ranking of the top 10 best performing wind energy assets in Australia.
In January 2022, Badgingarra wind farm produced a stunning capacity factor of 64 per cent for the month.
Located 12 km south of Badgingarra is the Emu Downs wind farm, an 80 MW project that was built almost 20 years ago in 2006.
The EPBC referral for the Parron wind farm says developers have addressed potential impacts that the project could have on matters of national environmental significance, including Carnaby’s black cockatoo.
Atmos says it is targeting 2026 for financial close of the project and to begin construction. A community benefit fund will be developed to deliver benefits aimed at supporting regional livability in the Shire of Dandaragan and the north-eastern wheatbelt.
Elsewhere in WA, Atmos has partnered with Nomad Energy to develop a 100 MW, four hour (400 MWh) battery that will be sited near Merredin, around 300km south-east of Badgingarra.
The Merredin Big Battery was among a batch of energy storage projects last year awarded capacity payments by the WA government, as part of a significant reshaping of the state’s grid as it accelerates its transition away from coal.
