Council's Section 7.12 Developer Contributions Plan will be recommended by Council for the proposed Yanco Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) development by ACEnergy which will be a State Significant development in Leeton Shire once it progresses to application.
The BESS is a large project with an estimated development cost of approximately $250M. The BESS will cover an area of approximately eight (8) hectares near Yanco and will have an estimated capacity of 250 MW / 1,100 MWh.
ACEnergy had proposed a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) of $730K over five years but Council rejected the offer at their July meeting in favour of the standard 1% of development levy which equates to $2.5M.
ACEnergy argued for a VPA of a lesser amount based on the grounds that BESS projects are non-electricity generating assets and, therefore, do not have the same revenue streams as other renewable energy assets. They also stated that BESS projects support the grid and are already a significant community asset.
At the meeting, Councillors expressed interest in the proposed development but agreed that the project should not be exempted from developer contributions under the Leeton Shire Council Section 7.12 Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to help Council provide the necessary public facilities to maintain and enhance amenity and service delivery within the Shire, as well as assisting Council in responding to long-term development pressures such as investment in irrigated agriculture, development of educational capacity and increased industrial development.
The Councillors felt the 1% in developer contributions from ACEnergy will go a long way in realising these outcomes and is a reasonable amount relative to the size of the project.
Council also noted that exemptions to the Section 7.12 Developer Contributions Plan are reserved for disabled access, providing affordable housing, reducing a building's use of potable water or energy, and works undertaken for charitable purposes or by a registered charity. In the case of the Yanco BESS, these were not applicable.
