Renewable energy developer Tonic Group has received federal environmental approval for its hybrid solar and battery facility in Western Australia.
The Binningup Solar Facility includes plans for a 75-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) farm and associated infrastructure, including a 55 MW/440 MWhr Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
The solar facility is a state priority project, established to service heavy industries in the south-west of Western Australia.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) determined that the facility would not constitute a controlled action under the EPBC Act, thereby allowing the project to go ahead without further assessment.
The decision allows Tonic Group to start clearing activities across the 88.38-hectare project site.
Tonic Group’s environmental assessment identified up to 1.14 hectares of low to moderate quality disturbance, including the foraging habitat for three endangered black cockatoo species and 0.56 hectares of critically endangered western ringtail possum habitat.
The company will utilise progressive clearing activities as development proceeds, using pile driving techniques to minimise excavation requirements and soil disturbance.