News

It would appear another proposed renewable energy project in NSW, Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia’s Romani BESS, is set to face the curse of the long-distance objectors.

The battery energy storage system will have a 200 MW / 800 MWh capacity, and is being developed in conjunction with, but separate to, the 312 MW DC / 250 MW AC Romani Solar Farm.

The BESS project area is 23.36ha sitting within an approximately overall 1810-hectare solar farm site located 44km south-west of Hay in the Riverina Murray region, within the South West REZ.

The project’s EIS was placed on public exhibition in October-November 2025, and attracted 68 unique objections.

Of these objections 0 (zero) were from local sources, 24 (35%) were regional between 5 to 100km from the site, and 44 (65%) were from the broader community more than 100km from the site.

A number of the objections included information that was generic in nature and/or erroneous. For example the claim that diesel generators would be used to cool the batteries and provide charge when there was no wind or solar available.

The problem is that projects that attract more than 50 unique objections are usually referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission for assessment, adding more time and red tape to the approvals process.

In terms of amendments based on responses to the submissions, Samsung C&T is proposing relatively minor adjustments to traffic/road planning, land title and battery layout.