Plans for what stands to be one of the nation’s biggest new gas plants have sailed through the federal environmental approval process, signed off as “not a controlled action” – and therefore not requiring any further scrutiny under the EPBC Act – just over two weeks after joining the queue.
The up to 850 megawatt (MW) Allawah Gas Power Generator is being proposed for development in Queensland’s Banana Shire by one of Australia’s biggest cattle producers, Consolidated Pastoral Company, as part of a “multi‑stage development” combining firming, renewables and transmission infrastructure.
As Renew Economy reported last month, the referring party for the gas project – and the company behind its design and construction – happens to be one of Australia’s biggest wind, solar and battery developers, Renewable Energy Partners (REP).
Queensland-based REP would know better than most that getting a major new energy generation project through the EPBC queue in little more than a fortnight is quite an achievement.
At the other end of the spectrum, even small wind farms are currently facing waits of many months for a yes, or no, from the federal environment minister, and if it’s a yes, developers can expect it to come with a long list of strict conditions.
