Lake Lyell is a well-established and highly valued recreational and tourism destination in the Lithgow region. It is widely used for camping, fishing, boating, and family recreation, and attracts visitors from across NSW. The lake plays an important role in supporting local tourism and small businesses.

The proposed development risks permanently changing the character and accessibility of this important community asset. Large-scale industrial infrastructure in this location would likely reduce the recreational value of the lake, impact tourism visitation, and diminish the experience for local families and visitors.

Lake Lyell is not an appropriate location for major industrial-scale energy infrastructure. Sites of this nature should be located in areas where community and tourism impacts are minimal.

There are also alternative energy storage technologies available, including large-scale battery storage systems, that require significantly less physical disturbance and can be located on existing industrial land. These alternatives should be fully considered before transforming a well-used recreational landmark.

Energy storage is important for the future of the electricity network; however, this should not come at the expense of established community spaces and tourism assets.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that the NSW Department of Planning reconsider the suitability of Lake Lyell for this project and prioritise alternative locations or technologies that minimise impacts on community and tourism values.

Hi,
My name is Jon Cronin, and I have lived in Lithgow for 31 years, I frequently visit Lake Lyell with my Wife and 3 young children.
We love going to lake Lyell for long weekends and our Christmas holidays and we often go down in the afternoon for a ski in the summer months.
I strongly object against this project as the tourism of Lithgow will just die, the thousands of people that visit this beautiful destination is very string for our little community.

How are we supposed to get to our boats with mudflats and the safety of our children and elderly to get to our boats when the water is down, this is absolutely ridiculous, not only that what about all the ancient artifacts this is going to destroy. Also, the Environment and the poor platypus in the lake.
The Traffic of heavy machinery coming thru magpie hollow road will be very noisy and quite destructive to a road that is already bad enough. And how many locals will get job's out of this project? Zero is the answer, they wouldn't want to build a base camp if they were all locals.
I strongly support the great western battery for a more versatile project.

Please do not let this stupid project to destroy the most beautiful place to me and my family.
My daughter (14) has cerebral palsy and this is her getaway from all the trouble she goes thru, this place makes her so happy when we camp and swim out there, how the hell am I supposed to walk her down to play in the water when she will get stuck in mud trying to get down there, her arms and legs don't work at the best times, please don't go ahead with this.

Do right by the people.

Please find attached my submission to support my objection of the Lake Lyell Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project.

Good day,
This project will damage the beautiful landscape - you will never be able to reverse the damage.
Wildlife will be destroyed.
The possible LITTLE battery benefit of this project is not even worth mentioning - this is the type of project that you consider when there is NO other alternatives and you find yourself in a desperate energy crisis.
We have MANY possible alternative energy solutions available - much more effective and economic:
- Coal power stations. (Emissions can be made environmentally friendly). Look at what the rest of the world is doing.
- Nuclear power stations. Again, look at what the rest of the world is doing.
You don't have to be very clever - a quick Google search will show you that you are on the wrong track with this project.
Rather spend this money on something worthwhile - something like nuclear energy that will actually make a difference to the upcoming energy crisis. (A crisis that you are creating by shutting down coal fired power stations).

Hope this make sense.

dear Minister
having arrived in Australia some 14yrs ago from a major city in china ,i first lived in kingston tasmania on a 5 acre property with my husband and children,it was like breath of fresh air after having lived in a major city in china Handan where pollution was an everyday occurance and noise was a constant companion.
My family then moved back to NSW firstly living in backheath for 4 yrs then moving to our present location Sir thomas mitchell drive,i am extremely happy here and have no intention of moving unless this proposed pumped hydro scheme goes ahead,this scheme if it goes ahead will be a blot on the pristine landscape that i now enjoy.I believe that there are better options for producing electricity.
Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate ,that solar power and wind power would have less impact on the enviroment and produce the same amount of power disturbing less of this pristine landscape,this proposed pumped hydro scheme has a shelf life of 80yrs according to energy australia,but at the end of its shelf life there is still going to be a big slab of concrete that will be seen as i do not think that energy australia will be made to return the site to its original.
solar power and batteries have a shelf life of 25 yrs ,but when they outlive their usefulness they can be dismantled and easily removed, and who knows with technology advancements solar panels and batteries their shelf life will be able to be extended,afterall it is not that long ago when the mobile phones were called bricks and about the same size as a brick.
I would urge you to rethink this proposed pumped hydro at lake lyell,as we can achieve the same result and leave a lesser footprint on the enviroment if we choose solar plus batteries and wind power,and it would be up and running in less time than this proposed hydro scheme will take to be built.5yrs Plus .As a former chinese citizen who worked for the local government in Handan as an enviromental engineer,i was well aware of the practises and short cuts some of the companies i had to deal with tried to take .
MY husband william keating has assisted me with this submission,thankyou for considering my submission.
yours lilliana keating

I would ask that the most careful consideration is given to the objections to this project and as to whether it will be a benefit to the community in the vicinity and to the greater community in the Lithgow area. The residents on Thomas Mitchell Drive and those who live on the lake feel as if their lives will be greatly disrupted to a point where they will not feel the same about their chosen and much loved location to live their lives. There will be too much additional traffic on what are winding, narrow country roads and an effect on the vistas enjoyed not only by them but anyone travelling through this wonderful landscape. Development and profits should not be at the expense of the people who love and appreciate this location.
It should be noted that I am not a resident or even local of the area these days but I still have strong ties with the area, having relatives and long standing friends who will be affected if this project goes ahead.
Please, consider your decision for the wellbeing of people, not business

Lake Lyell Pumped Hydo plan according to data provided previously is not viable and never was .It was assessed before and the outcomes were unfavourable .
The negative financial impact on the established community and destruction of environment and aboriginal artefacts far outweighs the projects claims for pumped hydro outcomes .
I am also very concerned re the noise impact of establishing the infrastructure.The surrounding sanstone ammplifies and distorts the noise impact of bulldozers and ongoung machinery .Also we have significant cold inversions in this area which increase noise impact .
From previous exposure to Coal mine noise I am aware of how far invasive noise can travel .Our present home I believe would be impacted .
Have baseline noise studies been attended ??
Do projections of noise from the hydro pump when established comply with industry standards ?
I have informed myself te this project and I object strongly ti it going forward .

I don’t believe the applicant is a responsible organisation and has consistently ignored requests to remediate work they have carried out that negatively impacts on our property. They have no plan to deal with unintended consequences of work they carry out. At this early stage of the project they have proven they are not equipped to handle problems that may arise.

I believe the Lake Lyle pumped Hydro is good. Use of a dam built and already used for power generation with close proximity and easy connection to already existing transmission lines.