TotalEnergies, a French energy major, is seeking approval from the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act for a 320MW solar-plus-storage site in New South Wales, Australia.
If approved, the state-significant development, located 22km south of Tamworth, will feature a 320MW/780MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) co-located on the project’s site.
The Middlebrook project’s solar PV element will include 750,000 solar PV modules. These will generate green electricity that will be connected to the National Electricity Market (NEM) via an on-site substation and an existing 330kV transmission line owned by Transgrid.
Planning documents for the project indicate that the project represents an investment of around AU$856 million (US$562 million) and will generate up to 400 construction jobs and 15 operational jobs.
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The pre-construction phase of the project is anticipated to last around six months, with construction to start shortly after, which will take approximately 18-24 months. The operational lifespan of the site will be 30 years.
The project received approval from the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC) on 11 November 2024.
More than 50 public objections were received for TotalEnergies’ project, and to satisfy some of these, the IPC has implemented conditions to which the owner will have to adhere.
Most of these conditions are visual cues, such as ensuring vegetation screening of the BESS and substation and that landowners can request vegetation screening on properties within 3km of the project.
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