News

Risen Energy’s Coleambally BESS project, a 100 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage system to be located approximately 9km north-east of Coleambally in the Murrumbidgee LGA, has been approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

The project is located on largely cleared land and will be adjacent to Transgrid’s existing Coleambally substation.

It is in proximity to the South West Renewable Energy Zone and will have a development footprint of approximately 4ha for the BESS and associated infrastructure.

Construction is expected to take 10 months.

Three objections to the project, from a total of four submissions, were received by the Department as part of the Environmental Impact Statement exhibition process.

The Department said overall it “considers the site is suitable for the project as it is located adjacent to the existing electricity network and would store and distribute energy to support reliable supply to NSW”.

The project would provide flow-on benefits to the local community, including “up to 40 construction jobs, a capital investment of $184 million and contributions of approximately $1.37 million to Murrumbidgee Council, over the life of the project for community enhancement initiatives through a Voluntary Planning Agreement”.

Another Risen Energy project in the Murrumbidgee LGA, the Woodland Battery Energy Storage System located on rural land in Darlington Point, has been placed on exhibition by the NSW state planning authority.

Risen is proposing the construction, operation and decommissioning of the Woodland BESS with a discharge capacity up to 300 MW and a storage capacity up to 1200 MWh.

The project will include an electrical switching station and ancillary infrastructure and facilities, and approximately 1440m of underground 330kV high voltage cable connecting the BESS substation to the existing 330kV Darlington Point substation.

The project will be open for comment until 23 October 2023.

In South Australia, Risen is currently in the process of selecting an EPC contractor for its proposed Bungama BESS.

Located 5km east of Port Pirie, the 200 MW / 400 MWh project will occupy approximately 5 hectares and consist of 59 battery units and power transformers to step up power to 275kV and then connect into the Bungama substation located within 200m from the project site.

The Bungama BESS was one of eight successful projects in ARENA’s $176 million Large Scale Battery Storage Funding Round announced in December 2022.