Narrabri Shire Council will seek further information about the safety and risks of a community battery after rescinding an earlier decision to grant the project a licence agreement.
Council agreed at its March meeting to enter into the licence agreement, subject to conditions, however, the decision was reversed last week for at least three months to enable council to become fully informed about the development to be located in the CBD.
Geni.Energy has sought to develop the battery in the town hall car park at the corner of Barwan and Doyle Streets.
The battery would have the capability of powering 50 homes by storing solar energy generated during the day and supplying electricity at night.
A full gallery watched on as councillors debated the batteryâs risks and location as well as its benefits.
Cr Amanda Brown, who moved the motion to seek further information about the development, said rescinding the earlier decision was not about rejecting renewable energy but to protect common-sense.
âLet me be absolutely clear, not a single person around this table is anti-renewables, myself included. Not one,â she told the meeting.
âWhat we are is pro-safety, pro-transparency and pro-community. The proposal before us, to place a large lithium battery in a council car park just meters from a public school, a TAFE campus, busy shops, homes, and one of the most trafficked intersections in town defies logic.
âIn a shire of over 13,000 square kilometers we are being asked to place a potentially hazardous facility on a handful of car spaces in the very heart of Narrabri. No wonder the community is not impressed.â
Cr Brown said she was also one of three councillors who attended a recent online community battery conference.
âIt was clear from repeated presentations from industry leaders that siting these batteries away from schools, homes, and built-up areas is not only best practice but essential.
âCountry Fire Authority in Victoria is years ahead of New South Wales on this issue, and is explicit about the risks and needs for clear buffer zones. Every expert at that conference emphasised the same point. Take your community with you, earn their trust, and never rush.â
Cr Brown queried why the development would go ahead in its proposed location when both Fire and Rescue and the Local Emergency Management Committee voiced their concern.
âLet me ask you this, if this site is so ideal, why did Fire and Rescue New South Wales caution about it at the last meeting? Why did the … Local Emergency Management Committee raise the alarm? Why are we even considering putting this next to our fire station?â Cr Brown said.
âThis is not a debate about whether we want the battery.
Cr Brown said it’s a debate about where the battery belongs, and that debate cannot take place under pressure or under threat of funding loss.
âThis battery could be built in dozens of other locations across the shire.â
Prior to Cr Brownâs comments, interim general manager Eloise Chaplain provided councillors and the gallery with background information about the matter.
âThe current situation is that the DA is approved, the construction certificate has been issued. The license agreement has not been finalised,â Mrs Chaplain said.
âI also wanted to table over the past week or so, we have received phone calls and emails.
âSixty-seven emails were received that were against the rescission motion, and 16 phone calls were received against the rescission motion. We received four emails that were in support of the rescission motion, and one phone call that was in support of the rescission motion.â
Cr Brett Dickinson, who seconded the rescission motion, told the meeting progress should not come at the cost of community safety.
Cr Dickinson said the Local Emergency Management Committee recommends consideration is given to the relocation of the project due to existing risks and selecting a safer alternative site.
âThis recommendation should be made a priority, said the LEMC. This committee must be recognised as an authority in these matters, and this recommendation should be taken into account,â Cr Dickinson told the meeting.
Cr Dickinson said the battery had increased in size since it was first proposed and in a completely different part of the car park.
âWe know there are lithium battery fires in New South Wales every year. In fact, many of them fully compliant with Australian standards. Standards are not a guarantee of immunity. They are just a minimum,â he said.
âIs this project as safe as they say? Commission an independent safety assessment, model an incident scenario, show us the evacuation routes, be honest about the risks, not dismissive. Invite the school community, the Fire Brigade, the nearby residents, and talk to them.
âStop bombarding us with bulk emails from people who don’t even live here, who do not send their kids to Narrabri Public School, and who have never agreed to a battery like this to be built in their own homes.
âI want a better energy future for our shire, but not like this. The battery is being built, no doubt, and is waiting to be delivered. It just needs to be put in a less conspicuous place, somewhere else, somewhere safe, somewhere away from children, homes, and local businesses.â
Cr Greg Lamont put forward an amendment which would see a licence agreement signed by the interim general manager, however, council would seek further information in relation to the development.
He said this would protect councilâs interests, progress the project and address the concerns of councillors and the community.
Cr Lamont said while on council, his focus has been on economic development for the shire, making sure the shire has been financially able to not have rate increases, and to be efficient and effective.
âMy argument here is in order to ensure that the business can develop and go forward, and we don’t lose that business to Gunnedah, who’s looking at a community battery storage unit as we speak,â he said.
âI move this motion on that basis that the interim general manager signs the license to overcome any doubt that the developer might have, and to avoid any potential litigation we may have because of the DA planning process, and the promises that were inferred that the developer advanced their project forward by an understanding that that was the location they were going to, to operate under.
âI also reinforced the risk management approach, and that’s why I’ve had the clauses in there that talk about getting the latest safety.
âI listened to the mover of the rescission motion, and the speakers, and I believe by taking the emotion out of it and looking at this factually, so it’s a win-win for all players involved.
âWe will look like very sensible corporate citizens by, rationalising, hearing each other’s debates, and, looking after the developer, looking after council’s interest, looking after the community’s interest, by adding those other clauses there with the risk management. And the final thing in this, it scares me to death the legal aspects associated with it, Mr Mayor. We have to avoid that at all costs.â
Cr Joshua Roberts-Garnsey, who seconded the motion, told the meeting the battery development is an opportunity that Narrabri should be proud of.
âWe shouldn’t be walking away from it. A child’s more likely to swallow a lithium battery than any sort of explosion or anything like that to happen,â Cr Roberts-Garnsey said.
âThe battery project’s fully funded. It’s designed and ready to go. It’s been through a comprehensive DA process including all necessary planning approvals and safety assessments.
âCouncil voted last month to support it, and rightly so. The battery will keep excess power local, support our grid, and create a renewable community fund that could deliver $10,000-20,000 a year for future projects. It opens the door to innovation, local energy resilience, and community education.
âI love that word. Since our last meeting, we’ve received dozens of emails and letters from residents overwhelmingly in favour of getting behind this. And it’s because the community is showing up and seeing the value and the potential of this opportunity. It’s a grassroots project. It’s been years in the making. We owe it to the people of Narrabri Shire to make it happen.
âWe have to start with these projects, leading projects like this one that show Narrabri is forward-thinking, sustainable, and is confident in its future.
âOur council motto is âdiscover your potentialâ. Well, what message are we sending if we walk away from a project like this one? One where the work’s already been done, already passed all the tests, and has the community’s backing.â
The amendment was defeated two in favour and five against.
The original rescission motion was then put forward and passed five votes in favour and two against.
âNo security of how to do business in this townâ
The proponent of the Narrabri Community Battery project has expressed its disappointment with Narrabri Shire Councilâs motion to rescind a licence agreement and seek further information.
Geni.Energy director Sally Hunter addressed community concern, particularly the batteryâs location adjacent to Narrabri Public School at last Wednesday nightâs council meeting.
âIâm a parent and I take that very seriously. And I take childrenâs care very seriously,â she said during the public presentation component of the meeting. âBased on global statistics, itâs very important to understand that this battery is 2000 times less likely to catch on fire than a hospital.
âWe are 252 times more likely for the school to catch on fire and risk our battery than vice versa. A house is 19 times more likely to catch on fire. And houses release the same gas that you get when a battery catches on fire.
âItâs toxic gas from fridges, from mattresses, from all that stuff in your house. And the heat is about 10 times worse from a house, and the heat is not directed up like the specialists told us. The heat goes out.
âSo, this is a very good site for this project. Itâs in a car park.
âItâs not near residential buildings. Itâs next to the fire station. Itâs got access to water. And thereâs no bush and thereâs no trees around it, which is the biggest risk.â
Mrs Hunter also clarified that the battery Geni.Energy has sought to develop is a lithium iron phosphate battery.
âThatâs with an R in it. Itâs not an e-scooter. Itâs not a drill. Itâs not a phone,â she said.
Mrs Hunter also held up a copy of Fire and Rescue NSWâs battery policy while making her presentation.
She told the councillors and gallery that batteries should be located at least three meters away from other buildings.
âIf youâve got some other concrete and stuff, you can put it .9 of a meter away from other buildings,â she said.
âThatâs the New South Wales guidance that we have to work with.â
Mrs Hunter voiced concern with the idea just to shift the battery.
âItâs not a couch. Thereâs been connection processes. Thereâs been DA processes that we have actually all of our approvals that we need, except the license agreement, to build it tomorrow,â she said. âAnd that process has taken us two years. It might have felt quick for other people, but for me, it did not feel quick.
âThereâs a lot of work that goes into this and you canât just pick it up and shift it. And this costs us money all the time. Weâve already experienced a month of delay since the last meeting. You canât say another three months of delay.
âItâs an arbitrary number that makes no sense. Weâve already burnt a month of it, and every week costs us money and time. And we have all of our approvals and you give us no security of how to do business in this town. And at the same time, youâre paying people to video to say that, âWeâre open for businessâ. Are we really open to business?â
âChildrenâs safety a paramount concern for everyoneâ
A Narrabri Public School parent, P&C committee member and employee of a nearby childrenâs service has voiced concern with the Narrabri community batteryâs close proximity to the town school.
Kat Denniss was the first of five speakers to address last weekâs council meeting in relation to the battery project. She told the councillors and gallery she was not opposed to lithium batteries, however, did not agree with the town hall car park site.
âHowever, I do believe that this particular battery should not be placed in the council car park on the corner of Barwan and Doyle Street,â Mrs Denniss said.
âThere has been insufficient consultation and limited information provided to neighbouring residents, schools, businesses, and stakeholders.
âEven the minimum of a 200-metre exclusion zone, would require Narrabri Public School to evacuate over 250 students and over 40 staff, and the schoolâs evacuation point is also within this radius, at number 1 oval. Also Nurruby operates an OOSH service at the school from 6am to 6pm, 50 weeks of the year. And Nurruby hopes to open a 0-3 year old childcare centre in Barwan Street in the coming years. Please consider for a moment, how difficult and challenging it would be to evacuate these children, in the case of an emergency.
âFire and Rescue Victoria, which is considered a leader in best practice for managing large battery fires, advises that significant space must be available around such installations to allow emergency services to access and manoeuvre safely during an incident.
âEven if the council car park is only a quarter full, it would impede emergency services from effectively responding.â
Mrs Denniss said with the risks this battery placement places in the minds of parents, she could further see that it will impact enrolments at Narrabri Public School, which would have numerous knock-on effects.
âWe are not guinea pigs and our childrenâs safety should be a paramount concern for everyone,â she said.
Mrs Denniss also voiced concern with councilâs initial decision to grant a $1 lease for the space.
âThe council car park is funded by ratepayers. Why are three ratepayer-funded car parks being leased for just $1?
âMy understanding is that the councilâs car park offset fee is $35,000 each, even if the figure has changed recently, this is not nothing.
âCar parking is at a premium, taking away three more car parks is unconscionable and will further impact school pick up and main street congestion.â
While Mrs Denniss exhausted the three minutes available to make her presentation on the matter, she was unable to read a letter from a local public school student to the gathering. The letter was later tabled with councilâs documents relating to last Wednesdayâs meeting.
âIâm in Year 4 at Narrabri Public School. I donât have a great understanding of renewable energy but from the little bit of online research I have done, I think this project is not risk free,â the letter written by the child reads.
âThis is what worries me. This is what worries my parents.
âWhy does it have to be near my school. Would you like this in your backyard?â
Low risk associated with battery, additional speakers say
Representatives from Essential Energy, NJM Design and Evo Power confirmed the low risk associated with the proposed community battery at last Wednesday eveningâs ordinary council meeting.
Andrew Hillsdon from Essential Energy said the battery would help store excess solar energy and release it during peak demand, and that the proposed location is suitable from a network perspective.
Risk specialist Ian Moore stated the likelihood of an incident is very low, and Evo Powerâs Conan Jones noted the Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are a safer, less energy-dense option.
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