Solar plus sheep plus massive battery: Agrivoltaic project seeks green tick for New England

The local subsidiary of Philippines renewable energy company Acen is seeking environmental approval from the federal government for a proposed 320MW solar project with an up to 1,400MW two-hour big battery, which the developers hope could also be co-located with agricultural activities.

The proposed Deeargee Solar and Battery Project would be located just south of Uralla in eastern New South Wales, within the New England Renewable Energy Zone, and spread over approximately 959 hectares of land currently used for grazing and cropping.

ACEN Australia, which operates the renewable energy assets owned by Acen the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, is seeking a referral decision for the project from the Australian government’s department of climate change, energy, the environment, and water (DCEEW) under the environment protection and biodiversity (EPBC) Act.

The status of the project is accepting public comment on whether to refer the project for development approval.

With solar generation capacity of up to 320MW, ACEN Australia is also hoping to pair the project with a battery energy storage system with up to 1,400MW two-hour energy storage – which, according to the referral document, “may be configured as 700MW four-hour energy storage.”

Feedback from the local community has reportedly been “varied” including, as can be expected, both positive and negative views covering a range of topics.  

While there are natural concerns over the use of otherwise prime agricultural land and the impact on the local community, Acen Australia highlighted “a lot of local interest” in the possibility of co-locating the proposed solar generation infrastructure with existing agricultural activities, such as allowing sheep to continue grazing between the rows of PV modules.

ACEN Australia expects the project to consist of approximately 750,000 solar PV modules as well as the necessary infrastructure. The project would generate power equivalent to the needs of 160,000 average households.

If approved, this would be the second Acen solar project in the vicinity of Uralla, following hot on the heels of the 720MW New England Solar project east of the town.

The project is currently being built in stages, with the first 400MW stage completed in 2023. The second stage is currently under construction, and will include a 200MW/400MWh battery energy storage system.