Pottinger Energy Park
Someva Renewables is planning Pottinger Energy Park near Hay in New South Wales, within the South West Renewable Energy Zone. The proposed energy park brings together wind generation, solar photovoltaic generation, battery storage, substations and supporting infrastructure.
Our experts were engaged to support the project’s planning and approvals pathway, with a focus on scoping reports, requests for Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs), Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documentation and Commonwealth and NSW referral requirements.
The work helped establish the assessment pathway and evidence base needed to progress a major renewable energy project through State Significant Development and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 assessment processes.
The challenge
Pottinger Energy Park needed a clear and defensible approvals pathway for a large renewable energy proposal in a priority renewable energy zone. The project also needed to be assessed in a way that recognised its connection to the broader energy park while keeping the wind and solar components clear for separate planning applications.
The assessment needed to consider a wide range of environmental, social, cultural and land-use matters, including biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, landscape and visual impacts, noise, traffic, hydrology, agriculture, waste and community feedback.
For the applicant, the challenge was to bring these inputs together in a way that was technically robust, accessible for reviewers and aligned with the requirements of State and Commonwealth assessment processes.
Our approach
Our team prepared the scoping documentation to support the State Significant Development consent process. This work described the project, its setting, the planning pathway, key issues for assessment and the proposed approach for the EIS.
The RPS team then prepared the EIS for the Pottinger Wind Farm, bringing together specialist studies, stakeholder engagement outcomes and project design refinements into a single assessment document.
The EIS assessed potential environmental, social and economic impacts and set out proposed mitigation and management measures. It also explained how project design had been refined to avoid and minimise impacts where possible.
Throughout the process, our experts helped translate complex technical information into clear, structured documentation for regulators, stakeholders and decision makers.
The result
The scoping report and EIS provided the applicant with the documentation needed to progress the project through the NSW and Commonwealth assessment pathways.
The work supported a clearer understanding of the project’s potential impacts, benefits, design refinements and proposed management measures. It also helped demonstrate how stakeholder engagement and environmental assessment had informed the project’s development.
The Pottinger Wind Farm has since received planning approval from the Independent Planning Commission of NSW, marking an important milestone for renewable energy development in the South West Renewable Energy Zone.
For Someva Renewables, the work helped progress a complex planning and approvals process. For the region, the project supports the transition to new renewable energy generation and storage while recognising the importance of environmental management, community engagement and agricultural coexistence.
