Australian Renewable Energy Project Developer South Energy would like to inform you that the Inverell Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Scoping Report is now available on the NSW Major Projects Portal. The Scoping Report outlines the preliminary design, key environmental and social considerations, and proposed approach to further assessments that will form part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Community input and sentiment have been summarised in the engagement summary report chapter, however, social considerations are woven throughout the wider Scoping Report. The Scoping Report is also shared via the Portal with relevant key agencies to review and provide comment, which will inform the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). These key agencies will include organisations such as the Inverell Shire Council, Transport for NSW, relevant emergency services, NSW Department of Primary Industries, and others. The SEARs will outline the specific studies and assessments required to inform the preparation of the EIS. We expect to receive the SEARs in the next four weeks, hopefully in early December. Biodiversity & Land Survey Completed within October, the Biodiversity team at NGH completed the second surveys on targeted threatened fauna species. The results will be presented as part of our Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) which will be submitted with the EIS in the next phase of the project. Following surveys will continue throughout November 2025 and January 2026 to ensure all the threatened fauna and flora species are accounted for. Concurrently, the Land Survey team from Fyfe also completed a detailed land survey and mapping, which would allow us to better understand the site topography, elevations and key features. Future Community Engagement Sessions We anticipate that we will be undertaking engagement activities in the new year, and this timeline will become clearer once SEARs are received, and environmental assessments progress. More details on these sessions will be shared in the new year, however, should you have any specific questions, please contact the team, and we will work to answer them. Should you know of anyone who wishes to stay in the loop, please encourage them to share their email address with us, as this will be our primary mode of communication, before our next information sessions in Inverell in 2026. State Significant Development (SSD) Process We understand that there is a lot of information to work through in these reports, and technical language can be very exclusionary for communities, which is why we intend to work with the community at our next engagement sessions to understand assessment outcomes, design considerations and also social consideration of the Project, to name a few. We would like to reiterate that we have only just completed step 2, of the 9-step process of the NSW SSD timeline (as outlined below). There will be multiple opportunities for community engagement, and feedback before a final decision of approval or rejection is reached by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Media Release: South Energy |
Inverell BESS Update
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