Synergy’s $4.5 billion Tathra wind farm near Eneabba will not be subject to state environmental review, clearing another hurdle ahead of project development.
Synergy’s $4.5 billion Tathra wind farm near Eneabba will not be subject to state environmental review, clearing another hurdle ahead of project development.
Tathra will comprise as many as 140 wind turbines generating up to a gigawatt of energy, along with as much as 500MW of solar power and an equivalent battery system 15km east of Eneabba.
It would sit on a 15,847-hectare development envelope next to the existing Warradarge wind farm in a region fast becoming a renewable energy hotspot.
Tathra was approved in December by a Regional Development Assessment Panel and put out for public comment by the Environmental Protection Authority in November.
The EPA revealed today that it would not assess the project, having received only three submissions during a public comment period last month.
While acknowledging potential impacts to local species including Carnaby’s black cockatoos and a requirement for the abstraction of 500,000 litres of water each year during the multi-year construction process, the EPA opted not to assess the plan.
Construction of Tathra is expected to take place across stages due to its size, with each stage expected to take up to two years.
Fears over the impacts of groundwater abstraction further north in the Pilbara hit boiling point last year, prompting a ministerial call for EPA advice, but have not extended to the Mid West region at this stage.
EPA chair Darren Walsh said in a summary of findings that the potential environmental impacts of Tathra were not so significant or unmitigated as to warrant formal assessment, and that impacts to flora, vegetation and fauna could be managed through mitigation measures.
The EPA’s move marks another major milestone for Tathra, which has been badged as a “a crucial renewable energy project” in the state’s decarbonisation plan.
The wind farm will supply energy into the South West Interconnected System via an existing 330 kilovolt transmission line.
The EPA’s decision comes less than a month after it waved through Synergy’s much smaller Scott River wind farm near Augusta, after receiving 384 public submissions voicing concerns over the Great Southern project.
The EPA has also waved through state government proposals including the Perth Park development in Burswood and the Crawley ferry terminal in recent months.
In both those instances, the EPA determined other decision-making processes would be manage potential environmental impacts.
The timeline for Tathra’s development is yet to be confirmed but will likely become clearer when the state budget is released in the first half of this year.
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