'That scares us the most': community unites to stop three major BESS projects

Residents from Tamworth's outlying suburbs have united to form the: Stop Kingswood, Calala, and Tamworth BESS (Battery Energy Storage System).

The group aims to prevent the renewable projects from breaking ground while also keeping residents informed.

One of the group's founders, Barry Parton, said a majority of the community was unaware these major projects were in the pipeline.

"The powerlines are a tea party compared to these batteries," he said.

"If you combined all three projects, it would be the largest one in the southern hemisphere."

Dixie and Tony Ernst have been familiar faces in the Tamworth community since 1997.

Seven years ago, they built their forever home in Kingswood outside Calala, Mr Ernst said the decision was made after they saw the "stunning view".

"We came here one evening and it was a stormy evening. We crawled over the fence," he said.

"Then we sat on this hill and watched the storms off in the distance and I told Dixie, 'She was gonna watch that view every night for rest of your life'."

Soon after, they met the builder of their home and future neighbour, Mr Parton and his wife, Lyn.

The Ernst's cultivate low-sugar hay on their property, while the Parton's raise cattle.

They had no idea of the three proposed BESS projects until Mr Parton came across an advertisement placed in the Northern Daily Leader for the Kingswood BESS.

"On the off chance, six weeks ago, Barry came across the community consultation sessions," Ms Ernst said.

"We had gotten a letter in a certified envelope that was turned backwards. It didn't have our name on it and I sort of just chucked it in the car and didn't think about it.

"While Lyn and Barry got nothing."

They went to the consultation meeting and found an empty room with a few representatives from Ibererdrola Australia, the developers behind the Kingswood BESS.

"There was one other couple there with us who live next door to the proposed Tamworth BESS," Ms Ernst said.

"So, I came in and said, "What is this? I have no idea; you explain this to me'.

"And they started to explain and I said, 'You are not going to come in and place this around us'," she said.

A week later, they had a brief roadside meeting with the reps from Ibererdrola Australia.

Ms Ernst said they found out then about the 120-lithium batteries set to installed next door to them.

Iberdrola Australia and Valent Energy both said the companies had hosted a number of drop-in sessions, meetings with neighbours, letter drops, and more.

All three of the proposed BESS projects are located within one-kilometre of each other.

The renewable energy developers GMR Energy, Ibererdrola Australia, and Valent Energy have previously stated that in scoping reports and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), each site was selected due to the proximity of the Tamworth substation.

Reps from Valent Energy and Iberdrola Australia both said they were aware of other BESS projects in the area.

"The potential for cumulative impacts of the projects will be assessed as part of the EIS of the project," an Iberdrola spokesperson said.

The proposed Calala BESS, located on Burgess Lane, will have 960 lithium-ion batteries storage containers.

The EIS passed public exhibition in late 2023.

However, the proposed Tamworth and Kingswood BESS, both located on Burgmanns Lane, are preparing to lodge their EIS on the NSW planning portal.

At stage one, the Kingswood BESS will install 120 lithium-ion battery containers, and the Tamworth BESS will have 130.

"They don't buy the land, they take options out on it," Mr Parton said.

"They push through the development stage and then when they get them developed, they bring in investors and then they on-sell.

"They may invest $20 to 30-million, but they never buy the land."

Ms Parton said in just six weeks, they had educated themselves on all things renewable.

Their main concern about the three proposed renewable projects is the large lithium-ion batteries.

"That is the thing that scares us," Ms Ernst said.

The concern is based on how easily lithium-ion batteries can catch on fire if overcharged or exposed to extreme heat.

This occurred in late September 2023, when a large Tesla battery storage site in Queensland went up in flames and continued to burn for days.

Mr Ernst said "they catch fire like nothing" and the land here is perfect kindling, especially when it reaches above 40 degrees.

"They cannot guarantee it is not going to catch fire, and there have been a couple of examples of this happening, including Rock Hampton," he said.

"It caught alight and they could not put it out."

All developers have stated in previous documentation that they will install air-conditioning and provide cooling systems to prevent this from happening.

The other concerns include potential water contamination from the batteries and increased noise from both the construction and the cooling system.

The Valent Energy and Iberdrola spokesperson said they were aware that lithium batteries could catch fire and pose a fire risk.

"We have explored various options and have decided to use LFP batteries because they are safe," the Valent spokesperson said.

"We have consciously chosen a different chemical composition, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery for our project Tamworth BESS.

"The company is putting it's effort into ensuring the project's design, systems, protocols, and fire mitigation systems are in place so that it doesn't catch fire."

The Iberdrola Australia spokesperson said for large-scale energy storage, lithium-ion is the most widely used technology

"We have explored alternative storage technologies," they said.

"However, those technologies are currently not technically or commercially scaleable in the Australian market."

As the three projects continue to progress, both the Ernsts and Partons will continue to help the community stay informed.

"The Tamworth project is almost ready to hit major projects," Ms Parton said.

"So, those 28 days are open for submissions ... so our job is to help people stay informed.

"We cannot help people write their submissions, but we can help people get onto the process and get their submission in."

The Leader contacted GMR Energy for comment.