New renewables developer proposes solar farm and big battery for Tamworth hinterland

A new solar and battery proposal has been put forward for an area south of Tamworth, in the New England region of NSW, this time in an area known as Garoo. 

The 155 megawatt (MW) Garoo solar project and an accompanying 360 MW/1440 MWh battery is being proposed for a 368 hectare patch of farmland, criss-crossed by the 330kV Liddle to Tamworth power line.

It’s also the first project which Bright Path Renewables has broken cover with, a new developer led by former Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) employee Tarek Alsampaile.

Alsampaile led FRV’s push into New Zealand, with the country’s first large scale solar farm at Lauristan in the South Island, and he started Bright Path in mid 2023. 

The Garoo project is being developed alongside Jinko Power, the Chinese solar company better known for supplying photovoltaic panels in Australia but which has been increasingly moving into development here. 

In December, it sent its 600MW Beebo solar farm and 400MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) into the EPBC queue to find out whether it will need federal environment approval.

Out in the countryside

The proposed solar farm at Garoo, a rural region with no urban centre, will be about 10km south of the highly contested Middlebrook solar farm and north of another big battery, the 400MW/800MWh Wallabadah BESS.

The closest town is Wallabadah, 12.6km to the southwest.

The distance from any town or village was a drawcard for Alsampaile, although there are 19 dwellings within 5km of the project.

“The land is suitable for a solar farm and a BESS, the grid has good characteristics and it’s relatively outside of large communities and it does not impact many neighbours, which is something we need to keep always in mind,” Alsampaile told Renew Economy.

“Regardless how good the site is, regardless how good the connection, if we see that it might be severely impacting a community, we just stay away.”

The Transgrid power line has made the area a hotbed for batteries, however. 

In Tamworth alone are the proposed Calala, Tamworth and Kingsworth BESS projects. 

The scoping report for the Garoo project suggests a start date of 2028, but Alsampaile wouldn’t be drawn on when he thinks the project will be completed, given the years-long timelines involved in renewable energy development and the early stage of this proposal.

Early engagement has started, with feedback including the impact on property values from a neighbour and questions from the council about accommodation, given Tamworth’s tight supply of housing. 

The scoping report for the Garoo solar and BESS proposal can be found here. You can find more information on this and other proposed, operating and under construction battery projects on Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia.