New solar and battery hybrid project sets ball rolling on environmental approvals after CIS tender win

A new solar and battery hybrid project selected as one of the winners in the federal government’s latest Capacity Investment Scheme generation tender has joined the queue for federal environmental approval.

The Corop solar farm, with up to 440 megawatt (MW) (DC) of solar PV and up to 800 megawatt-hour (MWh) of battery storage has been referred for assessment under the EPBC Act by Melbourne-based renewables outfit BNRG Leeson.

The project proposes to install around 1.19 million solar panels and up to 208 BESS containers across an area of around 1,100 hectares of farm land spanning 12 titles near Rushworth in central northern Victoria.

The BNRG project is one of 11 solar-battery hybrids which dominated the latest CIS tender and have been awarded revenue underwriting agreements. The 20 winners – with a total of capacity of 6.5 gigawatts (GW) were announced earlier this month.

According to the federal government details on the tender, Corop is a described as a 290 MW / 704 MWh project, with 230 MW underwritten through the CIS.

According to the EPBC documents, the Corop project is proposed for construction on a “highly modified rural landscape” dominated by cropping and grazing.

The developers say the majority of the proposed project area has been cleared of native vegetation and is currently used for agricultural purposes.

Three temporary freshwater wetlands are noted as “important natural features” within the proposed project area that will be avoided and designed around to avoid any impact.

The referral documents say the potentially two-stage project has been subject to public consultation since 2019, including “multiple community engagement activities” designed to inform and involve local stakeholders.

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