'Toxic bombs': Hunter council votes on battery 'mega-projects'

Cessnock councillors have narrowly voted to formally oppose plans for two large batteries, arguing they would risk wine country's tourism reputation.

Cessnock City Council will lodge formal objections to two giant battery storage developments proposed side-by-side on Wine Country Drive, Rothbury after two 7-6 votes this week.

Both the Sunshine Estate Battery Storage System (BESS), at 1337 Wine Country Drive, and Rothbury Battery Energy Storage System, at 1309 Wine Country Drive, have been declared state significant energy developments.

That means they will bypass council development approvals in an effort to speed up the projects, and responsibility instead rests with the state government.

The sites are next to the Rothbury electricity substation.

Two notices of motion, both moved by Cr Dixon, went before the ordinary council meeting on Wednesday and won by the same narrow margin.

The motions called on the general manager to urgently prepare and lodge objections to the state significant developments before public exhibition deadlines closed.

Councillors warned the "industrial clustering" of the projects could threaten the region's multimillion-dollar wine tourism reputation.

Councillor Susanne Dixon clarified the council's stance would not stop the developments, but could move responsibility for their approval from Minister for Planning Paul Scully to the Independent Planning Commission.

"This change automatically introduces a much higher level of scrutiny," Cr Dixon said.

Councillor Mitchell Hill welcomed scrutiny around large projects in the community, but said he was generally in support of the project and the need for similar infrastructure.

"This project, in particular being one coexisting with an existing piece of power infrastructure, is a benefit to the application," Cr Hill said.

Other councillors questioned the need for a formal objection from local government despite agreeing in principle with some concerns.

Councillor Quintin King described the batteries as "toxic bombs" and said when he heard about the development he spoke with local fire authorities.

"I was quite surprised to hear that if one of these goes up there is not much they can do other than contain it," he said.

"Depending on which way the wind blows it could also send toxic fumes over the village causing the need for evacuation.

"These things can burn for days on end and there is not much they can do but watch it burn to the ground."

Councillor Tracey Harrington welcomed the council formally objecting, saying the battery projects "deserve better scrutiny than the normal channel".

The motions had flagged the prospect of 'thermal runaway', a chain reaction of battery fires that have proven difficult to extinguish.

Ausgrid has advised a BESS fire is rare, and that most incidents affect only a single unit. It says that any proposal that does not meet its safety and reliability standards "simply won't proceed".

The two Wine Country Drive proposals are part of a broader rollout of battery storage projects by Ausgrid across the Hunter and Central Coast, including facilities already progressing at Kurri Kurri and Newcastle's Steel River Industrial Estate, as the network operator works to meet a state target of six times more energy storage capacity by 2030.