Narrogin approves Battery Energy Storage System project and adopts temporary housing and carbon farm policies

The first of six renewable energy industries has been approved in Narrogin, starting the $17 billion combined project investment that will transform the Wheatbelt shire into a renewable energy hub. The proposed battery energy storage system application was accepted by the Regional Development Assessment Panel on May 21. Shire of Narrogin president Leigh Ballard served on the RDAP panel and was joined by shire chief executive Dale Stewart, executive manager development and regulatory services Azhar Awang, planning manager Kiralee Harris and Cr Graham Broad who appeared via Zoom to discuss the document. The approval followed the panel’s May 15 decision to defer another project — a solar and battery hybrid proposal — after the Narrogin council, proponent ACE Power and consultancy Land Insights failed to agree on the project’s conditions. The $400 million BESS development will be on Narrogin Valley Road, 2km south of the townsite, and is part of the billion-dollar Narrogin Renewable Energy Zone that will potentially have six projects built. Put forward by proponent South Energy, the BESS project will span 25ha and is expected to charge and discharge enough stored energy to power the equivalent of 70,000 households for a four-hour discharge. Construction is expected to start in 2026 and it will be fully operational by late 2027. Shire president Leigh Ballard said the council was excited the project was approved and it would mark “a new era for the shire”. “The Narrogin BESS represents a huge capital investment that promises to diversify our industry base and create employment, civil and trade opportunities,” he said. Despite the anticipated benefits, however, Cr Ballard said the council feared Narrogin could not withstand the sudden population increase and would reap no rewards without a State-level community benefit plan. “We’re equally extremely worried about the impact on firefighting, housing and labour supply, and the pressures on scarce resources like gravel and water,” he said. “It’s bitterly disappointing that there’s currently no mechanism at the State level to ensure renewable industry developers provide fair and equitable community benefits. “Our message is clear, the people of Narrogin welcome participation in the energy transition but demand to be included as equal partners, not passive hosts to infrastructure that primarily serves distant populations.” Following the project approval was the shire’s adoption of the Temporary/Transient Workforce Accommodation Policy and the Tree Farm and Carbon Farming Policy, which were both unanimously voted for at the May 29 council meeting. The temporary accommodation policy was supported by a public submission which wrote that the policy was “extremely well designed and most comprehensive” and “supported with much pride”. The housing policy’s six conditions encompass infrastructure and serving contributions, legacy and long-term housing and legal considerations, while the tree and carbon farming policy’s conditions included bushfire management, environmental and water management and agricultural land retention. There are not yet proposals for tree or carbon farming in Narrogin, however, the council said it wanted to be prepared for future applications in light of the renewable boom.