Plibersek says no to solar project surrounded by coal seam gas fields

Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek has refused federal environmental approval for a 100 megawatt solar farm described by its proposed developer as being “surrounded by hundreds of gas wells” and a big processing plant in south-west Queensland.

The Kumbarilla renewable energy park, proposed by Elecseed, a Korean-Australian company, and Komipo, a Korean government owned power company, was to be sited in the middle of the Surat basin of coal seam gas fields and next door to a huge fossil gas production facility owned by Shell QGC.

The site, 40kms west of Dalby in the Western Downs region, was also due to host a pilot green hydrogen production facility, with the possibility of doubling the size of the solar farm to 200 MW and establishing an 80 MW electrolyser facility.

“Kumbarilla is surrounded by gas fields and processing plants, the Shell QGC (owned) Ruby Jo gas facility being immediately adjacent,” the developers say on their web site.

The project was to be built on a 400 hectare site featuring remnant and regrowth woody vegetation, most of which would need to be cleared. It was referred to the EPBC in late 2021 because of concerns about the potential impact on koala and other species habitat in late 2021.

However, in a notice published on the EPBC web site last week, Plibersek advised that the project had been refused because of its impact on “threatened species and communities.”

“The proposed solar farm would have had unacceptable impacts on water sources, woodland vegetation and wildlife, including koalas,” Plibersek said in a statement emailed to Renew Economy

“I decided the effects of this project on nature were too great and could not be accommodated.

“We warmly welcome investment in renewable energy. But renewables have to comply with national environment laws, like all other projects. It’s just about the right kind of development, in the right places, done in the right way.”

In the documents filed for the EPBC approval, the developers say that the solar site sits within three existing Petroleum leases, PL 273, PL275 and PL466 and that the landlord has previously been made “a commercial offer” for gas wells by Shell QGC.

It notes that then environment minister Tony Burke “approved Coal Seam Gas Developments across large areas including our project site in 2010, following state government approval (EPBC 2008/4398), and that the proposed site is surrounded by hundreds of gas wells.

“With consideration to this, future clearing is highly likely.” The document says it received local and state approval and had approval for a high-Low Risk Species Management Program.

It is the second big renewable energy project to be rejected in recent times by Plibersek, following the withdrawal of Ark Energy’s 294 MW Wooroora wind project in north Queensland after it was told the application would be refused by the department, because of its impact on biodiversity close to a World Heritage Area.

The Kumbarilla solar project is located in a region that already hosts several large solar projects, including the largest in Queensland, the 400 MW Western Downs solar project owned by Neoen (pictured above).

Daniel Kim, from Trade and Investment Queensland, had hailed the project as significant because of the involvement of a Korea state owned generation company.  

“It’s very exciting and it’s potentially a game changer when it comes to the corridor between Australia and Korea and in the area of renewables,” he said in a statement posted on the project’s web site. 

Plibersek said the federal Labor government has an 82 per cent renewable energy target, and as environment minister she had ticked off 47 renewable energy projects, including an 800 MW solar project in Queensland.

“Environmental approvals are almost twice as ‘on time’ under Labor than the former Coalition governments,” she said.

“On average, the Labor Government is approving onshore wind projects up to three times quicker than the previous Liberal and National governments.”