Total Eren’s Middlebrook solar project near Tamworth is wading through a river of objections, as members of the community and government departments line up against its environmental impact statement.
The project fielded 121 community objections during the submission period, and just five in support.
Eight different departments and governments have weighed in with objections, which include a lack of evidence for biodiversity consequences and council concerns stemming from the strength of community opposition.
The proposed 320 megawatt (MW) solar farm and 300 MW/600 MWh battery is sandwiched between the Hunter-Central Coast, New England and Central West-Orana renewable energy zones (REZ), to take advantage of the extra infrastructure being built inside these zones.
Its design has already been modified, down from the original 500 MW of solar, which then included a 100 MW battery, that was first proposed in 2019.
The project plans to connect to one of the two existing TransGrid 330 kV transmission lines that cross the site. Construction is anticipated to start in 2024, with a commissioning date in 2026.
Departments weigh in
The Tamworth Regional Council, while appreciative of the $860 million investment on the project in its area, wants “major concerns” by nearby Loomberah residents about the visual impact of the solar panels to be taken seriously and screening options provided.
It’s concerned about a four-fold rise in traffic on the surrounding roads while the solar farm is being built, and about where Total Eran will source water for the project given the drought-prone nature of the area.
The council also wanted to know whether local residents could get cheaper electricity because of proximity to the project.
The Department of Planning and Environment (DPIE) identified six problems with the biodiversity report, including more evidence of why the land was classified as low conservation value, more flora and targeted species surveys, and said that not all eligible scattered paddock trees had been included in biodiversity credit calculations.
And the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) queried why the developer hadn’t taken into account the cumulative impact of the three large scale solar proposals in Tamworth and the 16 in the neighbouring New England REZ on the region’s agricultural capacity.
The Middlebrook project will use about 530 ha of agricultural land.
The DPIE itself wants more work done to make sure any Aboriginal cultural sites in the area have been thoroughly assessed and conserved.
Slow NSW planning processes in spotlight
NSW’s planning processes have been put under a spotlight in the last two months, after a report by Rystad showed approvals running at less than half the 1.7 gigawatts (GW) a year needed.
The slow pace is “putting it at real risk of not approving enough capacity in time to meet its 2030 target of 12GW of operational utility solar PV and wind”, the report said.
The data was accompanied by a developer revolt.
NSW has been tightening the rules on where solar and wind farms can be built since 2021, putting in place new guidelines for wind farms in particular around “visual amenity” and setbacks, and requiring project developers to “anticipate” potential new dwelling sites in land that has the potential of being subdivided.
Rystad noted these are pushing developers to build projects at more challenging locations, leading to more issues with biodiversity, topography geotechnical and cultural heritage, adding to time and cost.
The government has since promised to speed up planning approvals.
