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Narrogin approves Battery Energy Storage System project and adopts temporary housing and carbon farm policies
Narrogin approves Battery Energy Storage System project and adopts temporary housing and carbon farm policies

West Australian

time11-06-2025

  • Business
  • West Australian

Narrogin approves Battery Energy Storage System project and adopts temporary housing and carbon farm policies

The first of six renewable energy industries has been approved in Narrogin, starting the $17 billion combined project investment that will transform the Wheatbelt shire into a renewable energy hub. The proposed battery energy storage system application was accepted by the Regional Development Assessment Panel on May 21. Shire of Narrogin president Leigh Ballard served on the RDAP panel and was joined by shire chief executive Dale Stewart, executive manager development and regulatory services Azhar Awang, planning manager Kiralee Harris and Cr Graham Broad who appeared via Zoom to discuss the document. The approval followed the panel's May 15 decision to defer another project — a solar and battery hybrid proposal — after the Narrogin council, proponent ACE Power and consultancy Land Insights failed to agree on the project's conditions. The $400 million BESS development will be on Narrogin Valley Road, 2km south of the townsite, and is part of the billion-dollar Narrogin Renewable Energy Zone that will potentially have six projects built. Put forward by proponent South Energy, the BESS project will span 25ha and is expected to charge and discharge enough stored energy to power the equivalent of 70,000 households for a four-hour discharge. Construction is expected to start in 2026 and it will be fully operational by late 2027. Shire president Leigh Ballard said the council was excited the project was approved and it would mark 'a new era for the shire'. 'The Narrogin BESS represents a huge capital investment that promises to diversify our industry base and create employment, civil and trade opportunities,' he said. Despite the anticipated benefits, however, Cr Ballard said the council feared Narrogin could not withstand the sudden population increase and would reap no rewards without a State-level community benefit plan. 'We're equally extremely worried about the impact on firefighting, housing and labour supply, and the pressures on scarce resources like gravel and water,' he said. 'It's bitterly disappointing that there's currently no mechanism at the State level to ensure renewable industry developers provide fair and equitable community benefits. 'Our message is clear, the people of Narrogin welcome participation in the energy transition but demand to be included as equal partners, not passive hosts to infrastructure that primarily serves distant populations.' Following the project approval was the shire's adoption of the Temporary/Transient Workforce Accommodation Policy and the Tree Farm and Carbon Farming Policy, which were both unanimously voted for at the May 29 council meeting. The temporary accommodation policy was supported by a public submission which wrote that the policy was 'extremely well designed and most comprehensive' and 'supported with much pride'. The housing policy's six conditions encompass infrastructure and serving contributions, legacy and long-term housing and legal considerations, while the tree and carbon farming policy's conditions included bushfire management, environmental and water management and agricultural land retention. There are not yet proposals for tree or carbon farming in Narrogin, however, the council said it wanted to be prepared for future applications in light of the renewable boom.

‘New Collie' of regional WA pleads for development help
‘New Collie' of regional WA pleads for development help

West Australian

time20-05-2025

  • Business
  • West Australian

‘New Collie' of regional WA pleads for development help

Narrogin has called for help from developers, builders and the State Government as the town prepares for $18 billion worth of investments, in the biggest round of renewable energy projects in WA history. Shire president Dale Stewart has met with key ministers and staff over the past week to plead for financial help and an accumulative assessment report to help the town prepare for thousands of new workers. Mr Stewart said most, but not all, of the proponents behind the 11 projects would build temporary worker camps for their construction staff. But he said there would still be severe stress on the region's current housing stock, exacerbating the existing shortage which already includes a wait list of 80 applications for social housing and 20 for government employee housing. He said the influx would also put pressure on local recreational, health and social infrastructure in the small town, which has a population of 5000. 'We are the new Collie in relation to the State's energy transition to net zero,' Mr Stewart said. 'I say that in the sense that there are nearly $18 billion worth of projects within a 45-minute drive of the Narrogin town centre to help WA reach its net zero by 2030 goal.' The first three projects — worth $1.3 billion in total — are likely to be approved within a month. It will be a significant move to achieving WA's move to achieve carbon neutrality by the end of the decade. It also marks a serious transition of the State's energy powerhouse from Collie to Narrogin. The State Government plans to phase out State-owned coal power stations in Collie by 2030, with the Collie Power Station closing in 2027 and the remaining Muja D units in 2029. Mr Stewart said it would be unfair for the State Government to expect the region to cope with the stresses of the rapid population growth without ensuring some long-term benefit. He said there were concerns that in the absence of any local builders of scale, local people would get priced out of rentals amid the influx of new construction workers — and others seeking to cash in on the new population. 'It's demand versus supply, that's economics 101,' he said. To cope with the drastic housing shortage, the council was considering taking out a $10 million loan so it could build 30 homes at a local caravan park. He said the town wants the State Government to incentivise the proponents of the renewable energy projects to build permanent houses because the worker camps would be dismantled after construction. In the absence of permanent water, electricity and sewerage connections, the worker camps would not provide any long-term benefit to locals. The raft of projects slated for Narrogin includes wind and solar farms, as well as battery storage facilities. A development assessment panel this week delayed a decision on a $400 million solar hybrid project in Narrogin, deferring it for a month after a raft of amendments. Sydney-based ACE Power plans to build the solar energy generation and battery energy storage system on Great Southern Highway in Narrogin. Mr Stewart recently met with Minister for Regional Development, Stephen Dawson, Minister for the Goldfields, Sabine Winton, and a senior representative from the office of Housing and Infrastructure Minister, John Carey.

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