Stubbo Solar Farm

RPS environment and planning specialists have prepared a pivotal Scoping Report to support the progression of a new solar farm proposal in the Central West region of NSW.  UPC/AC Renewables is proposing to develop Stubbo Solar Farm—a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) installation of up to 400 megawatts, approximately 115 km east of Dubbo, NSW.

With the proposal valued at more than $30 million, the project is classified as a State Significant Development under the State Environmental Planning Policy (State and Regional Development) 2011 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

UPC/AC Renewables called on RPS environmental planning specialists to prepare a Scoping Report that it would provide to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment as part of its request for a Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). A SEARs provides critical requirements and guidance for the next phase of the State Significant Development process—the preparation of the EIS.

We worked with UPC/AC Renewables to prepare a Scoping Report that provided a description and justification of the proposal, an overview of the planning and statutory framework and summary of consultation already undertaken and still required. The report also highlighted key potential environmental constraints and issues, the benefits of the proposal, and the key challenges to be considered through design.

In addition to our work on the Scoping Report, RPS has also prepared Bushfire Due Diligence Threat Assessment and Biodiversity Assessment Method Candidate Species Reports as part of the upfront investigations for the Stubbo Solar project. These reports provide additional information to the Department about the key environmental constraints.