NEIGHBOURING property owners have been invited to comment on a proposed $5.5m super-size battery storage system on one of the Woakwine Range windfarms.
It will enable the renewable energy generated by Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney Windfarm to be stored and put into the national electricity grid when demand requires.
Infigen Energy plans to build the 25-megawatt facility on its own land at German Flat, which already hosts four of its own wind turbines, the existing Lake Bonney windfarm site office, windfarm substation and ancillary facilities.
The proposed battery storage system will be operated and monitored remotely from Infigen Energy’s operational control centre in Sydney, which is staffed 24/7.
Comment from neighbours must be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel in Adelaide by May 25.
The proposed facility is classified as a category two development so the general public is not part of the formal consultation process.
If all goes to plan, the construction phase will take between four and six months.
Consultant planner and former Wattle Range Council chief executive Frank Brennan has been engaged by the company and has prepared a 25-page report in support of the application.
Mr Brennan said the proposed development of a battery storage system and substation extension on the subject land would not inhibit or impact on the use of adjoining land for primary production purposes and will not have a detrimental impact on the natural resources in the locality.
He said it will be sympathetic to the natural resources that exist on the subject land.
“Stormwater generated from the development will be directed to the existing stormwater management system and allowed to dissipate over the subject land,” Mr Brennan said.
“The development will not inhibit or impact on the use of adjoining land for primary production purposes and will not have detrimental visual or noise impacts in the locality.
“The main traffic impacts of the proposed facility will occur during the construction stage of the project primarily due to the additional volume of traffic from site workers and the need for potential use of over-size and over-mass vehicles to transport the various components to the site.
“The movement of the construction vehicles to the site from public roads, particularly involving the larger vehicles, will be discussed with Wattle Range Council.
“The existing access driveway to the subject land from Lakeview Road is an all-weather access for vehicles entering and exiting the site.”
According to the documents lodged by Infigen Energy with the South Australian Planning Commission assessment panel, there are four reasons to justify the proposed facility:
It will provide increased infrastructure and security to the national grid and reduce the risk of widespread blackout events.
The battery storage system will increase the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies in the national electricity market.
The new Lake Bonney structure will further accelerate the widespread deployment of utility-scale batteries in Australia as a facilitator of the new technology.
It will increase the competitiveness of electricity prices for customers by allowing Infigen Energy to ‘firm’ their own supply.
Infigen Energy referred to the success of the new battery storage system at the Hornsdale wind farm near Jamestown.
