Thursday, April 2, 2026
A nearly one gigawatt solar project with a more than 1.5 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system has been given the green light by the independent planning regulator after being sent for reassessment by more than 50 public objections to the project.
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC) said on Friday that it has approved Spark Renewable’s Dinawan solar and battery project, an 800 megawatt (MW) solar farm with a 356 MW /1,574 megawatt hour (MWh) battery proposed for construction in the state’s south-west.
The project was referred to the IPC in January, alongside Edify Energy’s Burroway 100 MW solar and battery project and two stand-alone big batteries near Albury and Deniliquin, as required under state planning laws if a project receives more than 50 submissions.
It’s an increasingly controversial quirk of the state’s planning laws, given the strong trend where most of the objections to any one wind, solar, battery or hybrid project are submitted from far-flung locations, rather than by concerned locals.
In the case of the Dinawan solar-battery, part of a major energy hub that will also include a wind farm, just three submissions came from parties based within 5 kms of the project, another 11 within 100 kms, and 66 from more than 100 kms away, including 12 from interstate.
Three special interest groups objected, including a Queensland-based group called Climate and Energy Realists, which insists “there is no climate emergency” and wants energy subsidies cancelled. But it supports nuclear, which requires significant subsidies or direct government investment to be built.
None of the major agencies, including the local council, opposed the Dinawan project, and Spark made some adjustments after consultation with those authorities.
The Dinawan project is located between Coleambally and Jerilderie in the state’s south-west, in a region with two existing solar farms (Coleambally and Darlington Point) and a number of proposed solar farms, big batteries, and wind projects, including the country’s biggest at Yanco Delta.
As part of its assessment of the project, the IPC’s two-member panel met with key stakeholders, conducted a site inspection and locality tour, received 43 written submissions (just two of these from within 5km of the project), and heard from 13 community members at stakeholder meetings.
In its Statement of Reasons for Decision, the IPC found that the project would assist in “improving grid stability and energy security” and aligns with state government commitments to transition to renewable energy.
The commission says it considered concerns raised relating to cumulative impacts, traffic and roads, noise, contamination, social impacts, emergency planning, local infrastructure and insurances – and has imposed conditions of consent to minimise adverse impacts.
The conditions include the preparation and implementation of a traffic management plan, a commitment to comply with set construction hours and noise management protocols, preparation of a fire safety study and emergency plan, and preparation of an accommodation and employment strategy.
Among the concerns the commission says it heard from community members was the potential for solar panels to cause contamination as a result of leaking heavy metals and chemicals into the environment.
The commission said it acknowledges these concerns, but notes that it “accepts the advice of the department” as outlined in the state’s Large-scale Solar Energy Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions.
This says that in order for the metals in solar panels to release contaminants into the environment, the “solar panels would need to be ground to a fine dust.”
Spark Renewables has not yet formally responded to the IPC decision, but in a news update in March welcomed the NSW government announcement that the Dinawan wind and solar projects would both receive dedicated support through the state’s Investment Delivery Authority (IDA) to help move the projects from proposal to delivery. 
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Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
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