Iberdrola’s big, contested battery near Tamworth has run through the federal government’s EPBC process in just seven weeks, receiving a wave-through from the federal environment minister in the dying days of May.
The 100 megawatts (MW), 1,080 megawatt-hours (MWh) Kingswood battery is just six kilometres south-east of Tamworth.
With state and federal approvals in hand, the project is just waiting on a connection agreement with network owner Transgris before construction is set to start later this year.
The way through the New South Wales (NSW) planning process wasn’t quite as quick as the EPBC, which decided it wasn’t a controlled action.
Starting in 2023 with a proposal for a $700 million battery, the project received its state approval in December and was immediately referred to the Independent Planning Commission, thanks to receiving more than 50 objections.
