Solar battery project approved without community fund or public art plan requested by local council

The Narrogin shire council in Western Australian was not able to convince state planners that community benefits should be baked into Ace Power’s development approval for a solar and battery project last week. 

The state’s Development Assessment Panel (DAP) approved the 200 megawatt (MW) Narrogin solar farm and a 200MW/800MWh battery, which will sit next to another battery project approved in May.

But an eleventh hour attempt to bake community benefits into the structure of the development permit failed, with the DAP including the council’s requests for a public art plan and community enhancement fund as only “advice notes”, which encourage the developer to voluntarily adhere to the shire’s relevant policies.

“Until the state puts something in officially is the best we can get in as an advice note,” Narrogin shire council president Leigh Ballard told Renew Economy. 

In a statement last week, he said the second approval strengthened the shire’s role as a renewable energy hub. 

“It brings us another step closer to our vision of regional economic transformation, Narrogin Love the Life-Power the Future – but that transformation must come with legacy housing solutions and shared benefits,” he said. 

The $400 million project is the second of six major renewable energy projects up for development approval in the Narrogin area and part of a regional investment pipeline worth about $18 billion. 

The project approval came as Western Australia finally issues draft guidelines for community benefits, which the state hoped would achieve “sensible arrangements” and provide a “starting point” for discussions between communities and developers. 

The guidelines include a range for payments from projects, of $500–$1,500 per MW per annum for wind projects and $150–$800 per MW per annum for solar projects, indexed to inflation.

It did not set rates for batteries, and only mentioned that technology twice in the 15-page document. 

New South Wales (NSW) led the country with guided rates of $1,050 per MW per annum for wind energy, $850 per MW per annum for solar energy, and $150 per MWh per annum for standalone battery projects, indexed annually to the consumer price index (CPI).

Earlier this year, the Narrogin shire called for the NSW rates to be a minimum.

Community funds should be informed by a range of elements, such as the impact on the community and the size of that community, and the extent of neighbour benefits, which are carved out from community benefits in NSW.

“This includes factors such as the impact on community services and amenity for community members, the ability of the community to access economic value from ongoing maintenance of renewable energy infrastructure (e.g. availability of accommodation and housing), and the cumulative impact multiple projects may have on a single community or region,” the draft guidelines say. 

“In sparsely populated areas, a lower per MW amount may be appropriate compared to areas of higher population or small landholdings or multiple communities/Local Government areas impacted.”

Last week, Ballard praised the move to create a formal way to handle community benefits, saying the council taking heart from the guidelines despite being disappointed about the DAP decision not to embed a community fund in the latest planning permit. 

“We have momentum, investment interest, and now, at long last, a draft framework to help ensure local people benefit from the infrastructure placed in their backyard,” he said. 

“But a draft is not a guarantee. We congratulate minister Sanderson on this first step but urge the State to legislate this and move beyond goodwill alone.”

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