News
24 May, 2024
Battery facility worries
A proposed battery storage facility near Hazeldean has residents on edge as public submissions open ahead of a town hall meeting in Kilcoy this week.
Energy generation and storage company Enervest has lodged a development application with Somerset Council, seeking approval to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) on Esk Kilcoy Rd, Hazeldean.
The proposed site is located between New Country Creek Road Estate and Kookaburra Crescent Estate.
The BESS works by taking electricity from the grid in low demand and feeds back in to the grid during high demand periods.
It will have a battery storage capacity of up to 800MW/1,600MWh comprising of approximately 256 inverters and 512 battery enclosures.
There is also a proposal for a substation to be located adjacent to the 275kV transmission line which transects the site, with connections to the transmission network via above ground transmission lines.
“The Australian energy market is undergoing an unprecedented transformation on the journey to a 100 per cent renewable electricity grid,” Enervest said in its proposal.
“The need for large-scale energy storage in Australia (is) growing at a rapid rate, with batteries playing an ever-increasing role in the grid, specifically to smooth out the availability of electricity generated from renewables at different times of the day.”
The application is currently in a public notification period, with residents able to make submissions until May 31.
A town hall meeting was held on Tuesday, May 21 (after The Sentinel went to print this week), with dozens of local residents expected to attend.
However, local residents have already raised concerns. New Country Creek Road Estate resident, Samantha, lives across from the new proposed development site and said she was extremely concerned about public health hazards including fi re and toxic fumes. Samantha pointed to a similar incident in Bouldercombe late last year, which forced residents indoors.
The incident she referred to was a fi re that occurred at the Bouldercombe Battery Project, 20km outside of Rockhampton, when a Tesla Megapack lithium battery caught on fire due to a gridside fault.
Firefighters had no option but to let it burn out, which took days.
Residents were urged to stay indoors and keep respiratory medication close by.
“The whole town is concerned because it’s just two kilometres from town,” Samantha said.
“We have minimal fi re stations and staff .
“They aren’t equipped for something that big if it were to happen.” Another concern raised was the potential for environmental damage, with Samantha saying runoff into nearby creeks could flow into bigger river schemes.
Fears of property devaluation were also among concerns. Samantha’s neighbour, Rosalind, has printed 170,000 flyers to inform residents about the proposed development, saying “it’s disastrous council would let this happen”.
She has lodged a submission listing 15 reasons why she opposes the development, including the location of an industrial development in a rural zone.
Loss of eco-tourism opportunities were also named by Rosalind, as the Somerset Dam is “on the doorstep of this development”, potentially affecting tourist appeal and town economy.
Somerset Regional Council Director of Planning and Development, Luke Hannan, urged residents to visit Council’s website and search for DA24212 (under the ‘Our Services’ tab/ e-services section) to learn more about the proposed development.
“Council would consider any request to hear from residents during the public notification period,” he said.
“The development application will be assessed in accordance with the requirements prescribed in the State Government’s Planning Act 2016.
“The current public notification period is a statutory requirement and carried out in parallel with Council’s assessment of the proposed development.
Mr Hannan said Council cannot indicate support for or against the proposed development, given it’s still in the assessment stage.
“Public safety and environmental management are part of Council’s assessment and consideration,” he said.
Updates from the information session will be published in next week’s edition.
Residents have until May 31 to make submissions to Somerset Regional Council using application reference: DA24212.
Any request should be formally addressed to the Chief Executive Officer.
Email submissions to mail@somerset.qld.gov.au or mail them to PO Box 117, Esk QLD 4312.
