Deniliquin East BESS granted development application

A development application has been granted to developer Bess Arctic c/o Spain-headquartered Gransolar Development Australia (GDA) by the New South Wales (NSW) government for the $118 million (USD 82.7 million) Deniliquin East battery energy storage system (BESS).

The BESS will utilise approximately 80 containerised lithium-ion battery modules with 100 MW / 200 MWh nominal battery capacity and 120 MW / 240 MWh of total cell capacity.

The project was found to provide a range of energy, economic and employment benefits to the local community, which include 52 construction and two operational jobs, and $600,000 in community benefits for the approximately 9,000 permanent residents in the Edward River Council.

Located about seven kilometres southeast of Deniliquin, 712 kilometres southwest of Sydney, the project received 71 public submissions objecting, including from nine interest groups, one in support and one comment.

Community concerns centred on fire risks and hazards, the merits of renewable energy and land use compatibility, which the developer addressed through further project refinements, such as readiness to comply with Fire Rescue NSW recommendations.

Six public submissions raised concerns that adequate consultation was not conducted, however Gransolar referred to the Undertaking Engagement Guidelines for State Significant Projects, outlining community consultation was conducted with government stakeholders, relevant agencies such as Transgrid, Aboriginal stakeholders including the Deniliquin Local Aboriginal Land Council, and adjacent neighbours and surrounding community, via a newsletter, community survey, local newspaper notices, pop-up community information sessions, the project website and freely available contact information.

Assessors found the project would result in a negligible loss of agricultural land, noting the BESS footprint of 3.53 hectares accounts for less than 0.0004% of agricultural land in the Edward River local government area (LGA).

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 and the project operational until 2060.