Wollar Solar Mod 4 - BESS Capacity

Wellington Valley Wiradjuri Aboriginal Corporation and other Registered Aboriginal Parties have been consulted in regards to this Modification for a Battery Energy Storage System or BESS. The area to be used for this BESS was previously surveyed and found to not have any surface Aboriginal cultural material identified. It is also located in an area within the project boundary that is very disturbed and some distance from any water source. Our Traditional Owner Community have discussed this project and modification and support its approval.

Water Supply & Storage

Where will the 228,000 L fire suppression supply be stored or sourced—is it mains, recycled wastewater, or well-based, and what’s the redundancy plan if the primary fails?

Water availability is critical during droughts, which are common in this area.
Will you guarantee a drought-contingency plan ensuring water for emergencies without drawing from towns supply?

Battery facilities require regular water for cooling, testing, and washing, but this use is not disclosed.
How much water will the site use per month, and how will it be sourced without impacting nearby farms or aquifers?

There is no mention of independent third-party fire safety testing.

Will the developer conduct full-scale thermal runaway tests at similar capacity and publish the results?

Toxic gases like hydrogen fluoride and carbon monoxide can be emitted in battery fires.
Will the site include active gas monitoring and alarms for local residents and responders?

Solar and battery installations require hundreds of thousands of litres of water, far more than standard tanks store. How will the eventual fire be address.
Where will the site store its required 200,000–250,000 L of dedicated firewater, and how will it be maintained in drought conditions?

Solar panel coatings often contain fluorinated compounds that degrade into PFAS—highly persistent and toxic.
What materials are used in the panel coatings, and has any third-party PFAS leaching risk analysis been completed?

Wollar’s farmland should feed communities—not become a solar industrial zone risking long-term soil loss.

What long-term agricultural productivity modelling has been done to prove this land can be used again post-decommissioning?