News

In more evidence of the damage and delay the Queensland state government’s new BESS planning laws are causing, RWE Renewables will incur development approval delays for its Tully BESS project despite getting the nod from the federal DCCEEW.

The 200 MW / 800 MWh Tully BESS is a standalone battery proposed adjacent to Powerlink’s Tully Substation in Far North Queensland, about 140km south of Cairns and 50km from Innisfail.

A Development Application for the project was submitted to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council in September 2025.

But in December 2025 retrospective changes to state planning legislation for BESS projects, State Code 27, means the Tully BESS will now be assessed by the state-level State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA).

In affect RWE will need to submit a new Development Application to SARA “in accordance with the updated requirements”.

At the federal level, the Tully BESS was waived through the EPBC Act process in less than six weeks.

RWE is now aiming to start the 18-month construction period in 2027, which is expected to generate about 60 full-time equivalent jobs with ongoing operations supporting up to three permanent roles.

Similarly, Red Hill Renewable Energy will need to resubmit a development approval application for its proposed Rutherglen Battery project.

The 400 MW / 1600 MWh Rutherglen BESS is proposed to be built on approximately 6.6ha of land used for cattle grazing located approximately 6km east of Bororen township in the Gladstone Regional Council LGA.

It will connect to the existing F814 275kV Powerlink owned transmission line that is adjacent to the project site. An earlier proposal for the project included a 900 MW solar farm.

Red Hill said that “the development application previously lodged with Gladstone Regional Council is now considered improperly made and will be resubmitted through the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) under the new framework”.

Rutherglen BESS this week started assessment under the federal DCCEEW’s EPBC Act.

According to AltEnergy’s Renewables Radar module, there are 56 BESS projects with a total capacity of almost 20 GW proposed in Queensland that will have to be assessed under Code 27.