Collie Battery

CLIENT: Neoen Australia Pty Ltd (Neoen)
SECTOR: Renewables
REGION: Collie, Western Australia

The Collie Battery is a stand-alone battery currently being built in stages. Battery storage allows for energy to be stored and discharged into the grid whenever it’s needed. This long duration storage eases pressure on the grid and encourages more integration of renewable energy into the network such as wind and solar.

OUR INVOLVEMENT: Environmental, Planning and Heritage Approvals and construction support.

Umwelt’s Environment team completed an initial environmental and planning constraints analysis, approvals strategy, completed or coordinated baseline studies (traffic, noise, ecology, hydrology, bushfire, heritage, visual), completed stakeholder and community engagement, and prepared the final development application (DA) for the project.

Initial engagement from the constraints analysis to DA submission was completed in only six months, including finalising all studies, undertaking community stakeholder and government agency consultation, assisting with iterations of the project design, and preparation of a final DA package for submission.

Umwelt also managed the submission and receipt of other key environmental and heritage approvals required such as:

• Referral of the project under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
• Application for a permit under Section 11, 17 and 21A of the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914
• Consent to undertake activities under Regulation 10 of the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 1974
• Application for a licence under the Country Areas Water Supply (CAWS) Act 1947, Country Areas Water Supply (Clearing Licence) Regulations 1981

OUTCOME:

The project was endorsed by the Shire of Collie and approved by the Joint Development Assessment Panel (DAP) in December 2022. Feedback from the Shire of Collie was that it was an exceptionally high-quality DA.

The project was not deemed to be a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act. This was largely as a result of Umwelt working in close consultation with Neoen to ensure potential environmental impacts would be avoided and minimised.

Umwelt continues to support the project by working with Neoen and the main construction contractor to ensure all approval conditions are being met. Umwelt also undertakes monthly environmental inspections and provides ad-hoc environmental support as required.