New solar and battery project in central Victoria gets state planning approval, joins EPBC queue

A new 250 megawatt (MW) solar farm with a 200 MW / 800 MWh battery proposed for central Victoria has joined the queue for a federal green tick, after the project escaped an objection in the state complaints tribunal. 

Edify Energy wants to build the Muskerry solar-battery project east of Bendigo, and suggests it could become a dual-use solar-plus-sheep project in future. 

The project is divided into north and south sections, and an objection was lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) over one half – but that was struck out or withdrawn in September, opening the way for both sections to get their state permits. 

About 500,000 panels and the battery component will sit on just over 400 hectares of land, and connect into a 220 kilovolt (kV) substation and then into AusNet’s overhead 220kV transmission line. 

Construction is expected to take up to 18 months, and the project is expected to power the equivalent of 93,000 homes and displace about 521,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The reason why it’s been referred to the EPBC for federal approval is the impact on Grey, White and Yellow Box eucalyptus trees and native grasslands which are listed as endangered under the EPBC Act.

The area isn’t a stranger to large scale solar projects. 

The 140 MW Axedale solar farm is 3.5km away; and other nearby projects include the 100 MW Fosterville solar farm that is expected to be commissioned in 2025; and the Cooba project, with a 500 MW solar farm and 300 MW / 1200 MWh BESS, which is expected to be running in 2026. 

Edify is keen on running sheep around the edges of its Muskerry project, but hints in its planning application that it might consider introducing sheep under the solar panels, “subject to the development of appropriate management plans”. 

It notes that agrisolar would continue the historic land use in the area – grazing – and maximise the land value. 

But as Australian agrisolar advocates have pointed out to Renew Economy in the past, developers need to have factored sheep into their design well before reaching this stage for it to be successful, so that option may be unlikely for this particular solar farm.