Landholders and residents say they will "put emotions aside" after meeting with Tamworth Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) developers, as they now begin the fight against the renewable project.
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Kingswood residents have 28 days to submit their objections to NSW Department of Planning and Environment concerning the Tamworth BESS Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
On Monday night, May 27, the developers, Valent, hosted a Q&A session to address community concerns.
STOP Kingswood, Calala, and Tamworth BESS member Lyn Parton said emotions were quite high.
"They are just going ahead with it. They are an overseas company and they are just doing their job," she said.
Ms Parton said phrases such as 'We gotta accept change', 'It is the way of the world', and 'zoning can get changed' were used at the meeting.
"We all just have to put the emotion aside, do our research, and write submissions to the DPI," she said.
"If we can get 50 individual submissions, that will send it to the Independent Planning Panel for further questioning."
Residents banded together to form the STOP Kingswood, Tamworth, and Calala action group after being caught off guard by the proposed energy projects set to be built around them.
Ms Parton said they have quite a battle ahead, as they have to "fight three different overseas developers".
The Leader was provided with the list of questions asked at the Q&A, when the developers addressed concerns such as contamination of water, construction, impact on roads, community benefit, and more.
Valent spokesperson Oliver Yates said the community put forward sensible questions.
"It is very hard to make everyone comfortable all the time about how they feel about a project," he said.
"But what we can do is arm them with the correct information to allow them to make an informed decision."
What does the project entail?
The proposed Tamworth BESS at 696 Burgmanns Lane will have a storage capacity of 400 megawatts of electricity.
The power will be fed back into the Tamworth substation via underground transmission lines.
The report states the site was selected due to its proximity to electrical infrastructure, "low environmental sensitivity," and "lack of locational constraints".
"We are so close to the substation we can put in the lines under the road," Mr Yates said.
"That means we do not need anymore overhead transmission in the area."
The Tamworth BESS will have 130 LFP lithium-ion batteries located at the site, which will include battery containers and a power conversion system.
Valent Energy spokesperson Oliver Yates said the chemical composition in the LFP batteries is safer for use.
"Batteries are relatively new technology and they are improving all of the time," he said.
"The previous version of the chemistry had this problem (catching on fire), and all of the batteries that are coming out now are using LFP technology.
"There has been a whole industry change about how this technology is safer than the original version."
The report states the risk of the project initiating a bushfire is "low if fire prevention and control measures are in accordance with NSW RFS and FRNSW requirements."
The electricity generated from Tamworth BESS will power more than 35,000 homes.
A Valent spokesperson said the company has investigated a range of alternative batteries, such as sodium batteries.
However, this technology will not be available in Australia for a few years.
Mr Yates said the company would be open to swapping out the technology if the new technology became available.
"If we haven't installed them and we can swap them with the manufacturer, we will," he said.
The additional infrastructure will include a switch room, a control room, an on-site substation, and an operation and maintenance building.
The project's EIS lodgement was delayed due to a list of requirements to be met for its construction, which include noise mitigation, visual impacts, transport, and impact on the local community.
The report states that "the use of vegetation screening is expected to reduce visual impacts for the affected residences."
Mr Yates said he is quite proud of how they have addressed these requirements.
The major project is expected to create up to 100 jobs throughout its construction and will operate for up to 20 years.
Valent will continue to work with community stakeholders throughout the construction of the project.
The EIS will be on public exhibition until Monday, May 24.
Rachel Clark
Rachel, a former Sydney-sider turned country journalist at the Northern Daily Leader, covers education, Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains councils, and renewable energy. Be sure to say g'day: rachel.clark@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Rachel, a former Sydney-sider turned country journalist at the Northern Daily Leader, covers education, Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains councils, and renewable energy. Be sure to say g'day: rachel.clark@austcommunitymedia.com.au
