The project
Neoen Australia Pty Ltd propose to develop a battery energy storage facility at Blocks 1634 and 1635 Belconnen. The proposal includes construction, operation and maintenance of a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), of up to 300 megawatts on a site adjacent to Stockdill Drive, Belconnen, ACT. The following components are proposed:
- A series of approximately 146 batteries and 73 inverters, each the approximate size of a shipping container (12m long x 2.5m x 2.5m)
- Internal access road and car parking for service vehicles
- Electrical substation
- Demountable office
- Water tank (20,000L)
- Internal fencing and perimeter fencing
- Underground cabling connecting the BESS substation to the TransGrid Stockdill Substation
EIS process
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) details the anticipated environmental impacts of a development, as well as proposing avoidance and mitigation measures. A proponent prepares an EIS to enable decision makers to understand the environmental consequences of a proposed development. The EIS is required to address matters raised in the scoping document for the proposal.
Find out more about the EIS process.
Bilateral assessment
The Commonwealth Government determined that this proposal is a controlled action requiring assessment and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) before it can proceed.
The Commonwealth decision specified that this EIS will be assessed by the ACT Government under the bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and ACT Government (EPBC 2021/8884).
Public consultation
In accordance with section 218 of the Planning and Development Act 2007, the proponent prepared and submitted a draft EIS to the planning and land authority. The draft EIS was open for consultation for 30 working days, commenced on 5 September 2022 and closed on 17 October 2022.
No public representations were received during the public consultation period.
Current Status: EIS process complete
The Delegate of the planning and land authority provided the final EIS and an EIS assessment report to the Acting Minister for Planning who, on 12 April 2024, decided to take no action on the EIS, meaning the EIS process is now complete. The EIS expires five years after the day it is completed.
The proponent has submitted a Development Application (DA) for this proposal for assessment in the impact track. The DA will undergo a separate assessment process informed by the EIS. The DA assessment will consider whether the potential environmental impacts of the proposal would be considered acceptable. The DA will be notified on the Planning webpage in the coming days.
Application and supporting documents
EIS assessment report
Revised EIS and supporting documentation
- Appendix-F01-Biodiversity-Assessment-Report [31.6 MB]
- Appendix-F02-Vegetation-Assessment-Report-dsb-Landscape-Architects [1.7 MB]
- Appendix-F03-Biodiversity-Offset-Strategy [11.1 MB]
- Appendix-F04-Stormwater-Assessment [7.9 MB]
- Appendix-F05-Groundwater-Impact-Assessment [15.9 MB]
- Appendix-F06-Report-on-Preliminary-Site-Investigation-Contamination [52.2 MB]
- Appendix-F07-Cultural-Heritage-Assessment-Redacted [906.0 KB]
- Appendix-F08-Noise-and-Vibration-Impact-Assessment [23.1 MB]
- Appendix-F09-Traffic-Impact-Assessment [7.5 MB]
- Appendix-F10-Bushfire-Risk-Assessment [1.5 MB]
- Appendix-F11-Consequence-Assessment-Plume [2.8 MB]
- Appendix-F12-Sitewide-Fire-Safety-Concept-Design-Statement [509.2 KB]
- Appendix-F13-Report-on-Environment-Management-Plan-Contamination [5.9 MB]
- Revised-Territory-Battery-Energy-Storage-System-Belconnen-Environmental-Impact-Statement.pdf [89.8 MB]
Scoping document
Scoping document application
