Beryl Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Social and Economic Impact Assessment
Ethos Urban prepared a Social and Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) in support of the Beryl Battery Energy Storage System’s State Significant Development Application (SSDA).
Ratch-Australia Corporation (RAC) is proposing to develop a new battery energy storage system (BESS) in Gulgong, in the central west region of New South Wales.
The proposed Beryl BESS would be located within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ), a 20,000 km2 area connecting new renewable energy projects and electricity storage to deliver cheap, reliable, and clean electricity for homes and businesses in NSW. The CWO REZ is anticipated to unlock three gigawatts of new network capacity by the mid-2020s, enough to power 1.4 million Australian homes.
The Beryl BESS would have a capacity of up to 100 megawatts (MW) with two hours of storage (100MW / 200MWh) and would support the Australian and New South Wales Governments commitment to increasing the use of clean, reliable energy to secure future energy supply across the country.
Supporting this assessment, Ethos Urban also developed a comprehensive Construction Workforce Accommodation Strategy (CWAS) to mitigate potential strain on local services and housing supply caused by the temporary construction workers for the project. The Strategy provides a clear road map for accommodating the workforce in a manner that minimises impacts to the local housing and accommodation market.
The Beryl Battery Energy Storage System project represents a significant step towards enhancing Australia's renewable energy capacity. Ethos Urban's Social and Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) and Construction Workforce Accommodation Strategy (CWAS) have provided valuable insights and planning tools to support the project's development. These assessments address key challenges, including the integration of large-scale energy storage into the existing grid and the management of temporary workforce impacts on local communities.
