Solar farm and four-hour big battery get green tick in rush of new project approvals

Plans to develop a 152MW solar farm and big battery near Gouburn in southern New South Wales have been approved by the state government – the second large-scale solar and storage project to be approved for the Southern Tablelands region in a matter of weeks.

In a determination published on Wednesday, the NSW government gave the all clear for Terrain Solar to build the state significant solar farm along with a 150MW/600MWh (four hour) battery energy storage system around 5km west of the town of Marulan.

Marulan solar farm is one of five projects being developed by local outfit Terrain Solar, including the Monaro, Myrtle Creek, Moama and Kingaroy solar projects.

Terrain, which is chaired by Sun Cable CEO David Griffin, submitted its Environmental Impact Statement for the Marulan project in July of 2022.

Having been given the green light, subject to some conditions, the solar farm will be built on agricultural land already cleared for sheep grazing, although this activity is expected to continue at the site once the solar farm is complete.

The NSW Department of Planning says the project will generate up to 300 construction jobs, a capital investment of $398 million, and payments to Council of up to $1.7 million over the life of the project. It will also generate enough electricity to power about 56,000 homes.

“Accordingly, the Department considers that the benefits of the project outweigh its residual costs and that the project is in the public interest and is approvable, subject to conditions.”

The approval of Marulan comes just two weeks after the NSW government approved the nearby Blind Creek solar farm – a joint venture of Octopus Australia and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation that will combine up to 350MW of solar PV and up to 300MW and two hours (600MWh) of battery storage near Bungendore.

All up it is the fourth major planning approval announced in a matter of few weeks and since renewable energy developers expressed concerns at the lack of approvals from the state government in recent years.

In a statement released on Thursday, the NSW Labor government seems keen to demonstrate its ongoing support for big solar, in the face of a rise in anti-solar and anti-renewables sentiment spurred on by conservative federal politicians.

“These approvals form part of the state’s growing renewable energy infrastructure, which is playing a vital role in helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and power our economy for generations to come,” said department of planning and environment executive director Clay Preshaw.

“Local roads will be upgraded to support the sites and both projects involve the construction of battery energy storage systems to store solar energy and release it to the grid during peak times or outside daylight hours.

“Having batteries attached to the farms increases grid stability and energy security, which can put downward pressure on power prices,” Preshaw added.

The department also notes that the pace of new solar development in the state isn’t about to let up any time soon, with another 13 solar farms currently under assessment in the NSW Planning System, “many of which will be determined this year.”

See RenewEconomy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia