Hinchinbrook Shire Council announced it has granted approval for a 300 MW / 600 MWh battery energy storage system planned for Mount Fox near Townsville after a detailed assessment of the development application.
The grid-scale battery energy storage system, which is to form part of the proposed Mount Fox Energy Park that is to also include 290 MW of wind energy, is to be built on a seven-hectare site about 100 kilometres northwest of Townsville.
The land is currently being used for grazing cattle but the property is near the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and the project had attracted some community opposition with critics concerned about its potential impact on the environment.
In a statement, Hinchinbrook Shire Council said a full assessment of the impacts of the proposed development and how they relate to the planning scheme and state planning requirements had been prepared by council officers.
“This was independently reviewed by a nationally recognised company with expertise in assessing renewable energy facilities,” the council said. “The assessment determined that the development complies with the assessment benchmarks and considerations of matters raised in relation to submissions from the public, as they relate to those benchmarks.”
Hinchinbrook Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Mary-Anne Uren acknowledged the opposition to the development but said concerns raised in submissions had all been considered carefully.
“Assessing how the development is to operate and the impacts that it will create was undertaken, along with how impacts are being managed or mitigated by the proponent,” she said, adding that the approval includes conditions that relate to environmental controls, bushfire hazard management, traffic management, rehabilitation, along with operational and construction management, monitoring and reporting.
The Mount Fox Energy Park is to be delivered in two phases with the first stage involving the construction of the battery energy storage system, projected to commence operation in 2026. The wind farm is to follow.
TagEnergy said the battery project will accelerate the connection of future renewables in the area by helping improve system strength in a relatively weak part of Australia’s grid.
The battery, which has secured conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, is be equipped with grid-forming inverter technology, allowing it to provide system stability services traditionally provided by synchronous generation like coal, gas and hydro power stations.
The Mount Fox battery announcement marks another step in TagEnergy’s expanding project pipeline in Australia. The developer, part of the Impala SAS Group of France, last year began building its first project in Australia – the 756 MW first stage of its Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria. The initial stage of the project is due to come online next year, with the 577 MW second stage to follow.
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