A big battery planned for South Australia faces more hurdles to get approval with the local council formally opposing the proposed location of Potentia Energy’s planned 125 MW / 500 MWh Blanche battery energy storage system (BESS).
Potentia, a joint venture between Italy-headquartered Enel Green Power and Japan’s Inpex Corporation, is planning to build the battery energy storage system about one kilometre from network operator Electranet’s existing Blanche substation near Mount Gambier in the state’s southeast.
The four-hour Blanche BESS began progressing through submissions in April 2024 and was originally targeting an operational timeframe by the end of 2027. The project had an early cost estimate of $240 million (USD 170 million). Updated estimates are now for construction to commence at the end of 2026, with operations due to begin at the end of 2028, at a slightly lower cost of $220 million.
Opposition
The District Council of Grant has however opposed the proposed location, though not the project itself, as scrutiny of BESS projects increases as they move through assessment phases.
At its 16 February meeting, the council resolved to oppose the project “as proposed” at 25 McKay Road, Compton, while stating general support for battery storage developments in more suitable locations.
In its resolution, the council directed its chief executive to lodge a submission raising concerns about proximity to existing and planned housing, fire risk, potential hazardous gas emissions, noise, traffic impacts and possible effects on the Blue Lake catchment, including groundwater and rainwater tanks relied upon by rural residents. It also requested independent technical verification of fire and gas emission modelling submitted with the project documentation.
Authority lies elsewhere
While the local council opposes the location of the Blanche battery project, it does not have final approval authority under South Australia’s Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act. The Minister for Energy and Mining determines licensing outcomes following both general public and stakeholder consultation.
The council has asked the Department for Energy and Mining to convene a meeting with council administration and transmission network operator ElectraNet to identify alternative substation locations within the district that better align with strategic land-use planning and residential growth areas.
Before the council’s rejection, Potentia told ABC it had already modified the proposal four times.
“These changes include increasing buffers around the yard to maximise separation from existing and future dwellings, repositioning infrastructure to increase distance to sensitive receivers,” the developer said.
Grant District Council Mayor Kylie Boston told ABC council believed other sites in the region may be more appropriate.
“We do have other locations in our council area which potentially could be suitable for projects like this,” she said.
Public consultation on the Associated Infrastructure Licence application remains open on the Department for Energy and Mining website until 10 March 2026.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.