Australian renewable energy developer Edify Energy has submitted a 250MW solar-plus-storage project in Victoria to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act queue.
The EPBC queue, administrated by the Federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities under the Act. This must be accepted before being granted permission to develop a project.
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Edify’s 250MW solar PV project, which features a 200MW/800MWh proposed co-located battery energy storage system (BESS), will be developed in Muskerry, north of state capital Melbourne.
According to project documents, the Muskerry solar PV power plant will take approximately 12 months to construct fully and will have an operational lifespan of around 50 years.
Edify also intends to potentially introduce a form of agrivoltaics to the project by providing grazing areas underneath the solar PV modules for merino sheep. The developer said in its plans that “sheep growth rate and fertility should be higher under the solar panels than direct sunlight, due to the abundant shade and lower temperatures”.
Alongside the Muskerry project, Edify has several solar PV projects in development across Australia.
Indeed, in June 2024, the developer proposed constructing and operating a 200MW solar PV project near the Callide coal-fired power station in Central Queensland. The Callide Solar Power Station Project would also incorporate a 4-hour duration 200MW/800MWh BESS at a site located seven kilometres northeast of Biloela.
Recent solar PV successes in the EPBC queue
Several other projects have seen success in the EPBC queue in recent months. For instance, developer Lightsource bp was granted development approval for its proposed 450MW Goulburn River Solar Farm in New South Wales, subject to conditions.
The project, which secured approval from the New South Wales government in late August 2024, will cover a 793-hectare site around 28km southwest of Merriwa, 273km northwest of Sydney. It will cost around AU$880 million (US$596 million) to construct fully.
Last month (18 September), Cambridge JMD Australia, a regional subsidiary of fund manager Cambridge RE Partners, secured consent from the Australian government for its 300MW Cambridge Solar Farm. The solar PV power plant is located approximately 80km south of Townsville, Queensland, and will connect to existing transmission infrastructure. Again, this was granted via the EPBC process.
Acen Australia’s 600MW Birriwa solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales was also granted federal approval from Tanya Plibersek, Australia’s minister for the environment and water, in September 2024. Project plans also include the construction of a co-located 600MW/1,200MWh BESS.
