The Lower Mount Walker Community Action Group sum up the year in their own words and say how they feel they have been left in the dark by Libra Energy which is behind the push for industrial solar in the area.
"For most of this year the community surrounding Lower Mount Walker have endured the looming threat of Industrial Solar and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
This is not referring to simple rooftop solar panels or a small battery storage in a garage – some residents have already invested in these to combat the increasing cost of electricity.
What we refer to here is the extremely large industrial scale renewable energy projects and where they are placed. It is the 1,147 shipping container-sized batteries – full of toxic chemicals and lithium, placed on productive farming land that raised numerous red flags with residents.
Snippets of information began circulating in January 2024 through the close-knit Lower Mount Walker community detailing Blanch’s Dairy farm would be covered in a sea of black glass (217,391 solar panels) plus a large fire risk via 1,147 Lithium Megapack batteries (BESS).
This news fragmented the community and neighbourhood friendships and continues to do so, as we approach the year end.
On 30th October, the committee members of the Lower Mount Walker Community Action Group (LMWCAG) met with three of the Libra Energy directors (Rod Stephenson, Tony Neylon & Bob Logan) plus a political lobbyist, Paul Bini and community liaison consultant, Peta Bilton.
The meeting was organised, on the proviso of restricted attendees, under the expectation quoted from Peta Bilton of ‘building relationships and open, transparent communication’.
This meeting did provide an opportunity to put faces to names, however, unfortunately nothing tangible was disclosed.
Neither the directors or the political lobbyist were able to (or chose not to) answer fundamental questions such as: -
• Whereabouts are you proposing to site the 850 MW/3400MWh Bremer Battery Energy Storage System?
• How many 20 foot shipping container sized Lithium Batteries are you proposing to install and what associated electrical infrastructure will be required to connect to the transmission lines?
• Can you explain how your project justifies a ‘clean, green and sustainable label’?
• Why have you chosen productive farming land, rather than a site in the Industrial zone or a site that is already degraded and contaminated (old mining site etc)?
The committee members therefore sat through a meeting of nebulous responses not really knowing if the batteries would be located on Blanch’s dairy farm or EDQ Lease blocks on Lairhopes Road, Ebenezer or elsewhere?
The directors were asked if the Development Application (DA) had been lodged and Rod Stephenson confirmed that the DA had not yet been lodged.
This was a huge contradiction to their two media articles released in June 2024 (via Renew Economy and PV Magazine Australia) that clearly stated “Libra Energy announced that plans have been submitted for approval for development near Ipswich in south-east Queensland”.
These two media articles were also uploaded by Libra Energy to their website. The LMWCAG questioned this alleged misinformation and provided Libra Energy with the opportunity to rectify this, because it has misled the community and investors.
Disappointingly Libra Energy has ignored this and the media articles are still proudly displayed on the Libra Energy website and no consideration has been acknowledged of the undue stress this has placed on local residents for the past 6 months.
This method of allegedly deceivingly telling people they had the DA lodged when in fact they didn’t is nothing but a lie and a false effort to inflate their image in the marketplace. Residents have been under huge undue stress and put renovations on hold for the past 6 months, in fact some have placed their whole lives on hold, as they reassess the traumatic impact of industrial BESS foisted within their rural neighbourhood.
The directors were also questioned about the successes of other projects they had developed in other countries, such as Asia and Africa as mentioned on their websites.
This is also apparently misinformation as Rod Stephenson confirmed these projects did not go ahead.
Why is the developer content to leave alleged incorrect information on their websites – how much more of it is inaccurate? This is the developer who the community is supposed to be building trust in, the developer who would supposedly be working alongside our properties.
From the view of the committee members this alleged misinformation has undermined the credibility and confidence held of the developer.
In the Moreton Border News article dated 16 February 2024 Mr Stephenson quoted ‘community meeting would soon begin to address public concern’.
For reasons unexplained this has not eventuated.
We have reached December 2024 and Libra Energy have avoided public disclosure of their intended plans and have not initiated any formal public community consultation.
The LMWCAG has been calling out loudly for further detail on the BESS project and has also signed up to the ‘How can I stay informed’ section on the Bremer Battery Project website, however, have not received any news or updates.
The LMWCAG are now expecting that the community will be blindsided by Libra Energy as they seem to skip over the extremely important community consultation process and advance to the ‘Community sponsorship’ sweetener.
This could be viewed as dictating what they are developing rather than consulting.
This is a very delicate topic as it further divides the community as people are persuaded with lolly bags and sponsorship money, at a time where we are facing a cost-of-living crisis.
An integral part of the Development Application (DA) process is for the proponent (developer) to demonstrate that they have conducted appropriate community engagement and consultation. Handing out some dollars to sponsor the local show can make the proponent feel satisfied to tick their ‘community engagement and consultation’ box.
Our not-for-profit community groups, schools, fire departments and other local organisations may be approached, offering donations and sponsorship by Libra Energy. When you accept this money you become complicit with that company’s financial agenda and you are reported as evidence of ‘community engagement’.
By accepting donations or sponsorship from Libra Energy (or any other company) you are providing a message that they are welcome here, and you are taking away the rights of the land holders directly impacted.
Developers will be hopeful you will look at the dollars and forget the dangers!
We need to dig further into the real impact of these projects rather than looking at the short term ‘grab a bit of sponsorship money so the developer can tick their social licence box’.
The LMWCAG committee members have been doing some of this digging and whilst they are not paid to be researchers, they are combatting people who are being paid full-time to push this proposal through.
Here are some of the alarming dis-benefits: -
• Once a BESS is approved for an area, it is likely followed by thousands of hectares of solar panels and mountain range ridgelines plastered with unsightly wind turbines. Mining is also likely to increase in the area as more minerals are required to build the renewable energy projects (concrete pad base for batteries and wind turbines, plus critical minerals for making solar panels and lithium batteries)
• This area can then be declared a State Development Area (SDA) and a renewable energy zone (REZ) and lose the benefits of being a rural/residential area as we currently enjoy.
• The Bremer Battery proposal is larger than any of the BESS currently approved or under construction within the designated REZ zones throughout QLD. For example the Chinchilla BESS, which is located next to the Kogan Creek Power Station, is 100MW / 200MWh (equals power for 2 hours) and has 80 batteries. Libra Energy are proposing for the Bremer Battery to be 850MW / 3400MWh (equals power for 4 hours) with over 1000 batteries.
• A quick internet search will provide you with the various dangers and hazardous chemicals contained in Lithium batteries and due to the shipping container size of the BESS batteries – this risk is multiplied and creates a myriad of unknown consequences. Hence the reason there is a publicly available BESS Failure Incident Database, created in 2021. Moorabool BESS, Victoria andBouldercombe BESS, Queensland are already on this list.
These BESS fires burn for days/weeks and residents are evacuated or told to stay indoors. BESS fires are unable to be extinguished with water and need to ‘just burn themselves out’.
What happens to the cattle, sheep, horses, goats, birds and wildlife – they cannot be placed indoors, away from the toxic chemicals that pollute the air, waterways and drinking water tanks.
• Concerns are yet to be addressed around – reduced property values for those in the surrounding area of the BESS, increased farm and public liability insurance, loss of rural amenity, bushfire risk, contamination of the Bremer River and Warrill creek, flood impacts, noise impacts and health impacts.
• These large scale industrial renewable energy projects (BESS, Solar, Wind, Biomass, Pumped Hydro and Hydrogen) are on the receiving end of huge government subsidies and incentives schemes.
The funds handed to developers has to come from somewhere – it will be recouped by taxes paid and higher energy bill payments. The myth of cheaper, clean energy appears to be exactly that – a myth.
The rapid rollout of renewable energy across the state has only resulted in increased power bills for the consumer.
• The BESS draw power out of the grid when it is cheap and re-sell it later that night at a dearer price – an investment scheme rather than an environmental solution.
• It is very clear that the focus on these projects is DOLLARS and PROFIT – it is unfortunately not focused on the irrevocable damage to our people, environment, ecosystems or wildlife.
• If a BESS was approved for the Lower Mount Walker, Mount Forbes, Ebenezer area it is heartbreaking to imagine the damage to the already struggling roads with the traffic and large loads (concrete trucks, transformers, heavy battery packs) that would be required with construction of this monstrosity.
• Lets also jump forward and consider the impact to our future generation – our grandkids, when the BESS is no longer operational or out of date. This could be 10 or 15 years – where does this many shipping container sized batteries get disposed of – landfill?
They may have come into this country via boat at the port of Brisbane but it is doubtful there will be the same appetite for their return once unusable and decommissioned.
• The Bremer Battery Project is considered dangerous, toxic and industrial – it’s all these things and exactly where they don’t belong, permanently scarring our valuable farmland.
The LMWCAG encourages the community to get involved and also conduct your own research as it may be a similar project proposed near your backyard in the future. Feedback and questions are welcomed via info@lowermtwalker.community."