Northern Battery

No, you shouldn’t hear anything. With the noise control measures in place, the sound at the nearest home will be around 38 dB (decibels). For comparison, a normal conversation is about 60 dB.

The assessment predicts relatively consistent noise levels of approximately 38 dB at the nearest residence during both day and night periods. However, operational noise can vary depending on the battery discharge rate and ambient temperatures at the site.

The closest home is over 500 meters away. At this distance, the predicted noise level is 38 dB, which is well below the night & day limits.

The facility sits in an excavated area 4–5 meters below ground level, making it largely invisible from surrounding properties. The assessment found negligible to low visual impact from all viewpoints assessed.

The facility includes 208 battery units (2.6m height), 52 inverters, a substation with bus pipes (6–10m height), and 2.1m security fencing. The batteries are white shipping-container-style units.

A 5-meter-wide landscape buffer zone around the perimeter will include native trees and shrubs, with automatic irrigation during the establishment period and a minimum two-year maintenance program.

The project will clear approximately 6.7 hectares of low coastal shrub land in very poor condition. The site is a former soil borrow pit that has been significantly disturbed, with much of the area consisting of natural regeneration rather than intact native vegetation.

The project site was selected because it is mostly free of native vegetation and already heavily degraded from past use as a borrow pit. The design avoids a small patch of better-quality vegetation in the northwestern corner, and the development footprint has been positioned in the most degraded areas of the site.

Natural regeneration is expected to occur around the facility infrastructure and along the transmission corridor after construction is complete. The site has a demonstrated capacity for natural regrowth, as evidenced by the vegetation that has regenerated since previous disturbance activities on the former borrow pit site.

During the 18-month construction period, the facility will generate an average of 66 vehicle movements per day (combining light and heavy vehicles). Peak construction activity is expected to last approximately 6 months. Typical peak hour volumes would be around 20 movements, with the majority being light vehicles associated with construction staff. These volumes are considered very low and well within the capacity of the existing road network.

Construction vehicles will access the site via Northern Power Station Road, which connects to the Augusta Highway. The route utilizes existing internal access roads within the broader property to reach the battery facility location. Northern Power Station Road is currently approved for vehicles up to 36.5m Road Trains, though the private section of the road has a 4.3m height restriction that contractors will need to consider.

Traffic during the operational phase will be extremely low, with less than one vehicle movement per day on average. Movements will primarily consist of routine inspections and maintenance visits occurring approximately 10 times per year, typically using light vehicles. This minimal traffic will have negligible impact on the surrounding road network.

No known Aboriginal heritage sites have been identified within or adjacent to the project area. The site has been extensively cleared and graded since 2016–2018, and heritage register searches confirm no recorded sites exist in this location.

All work must stop immediately if any Aboriginal heritage is found, as all sites are legally protected whether previously recorded or not. The discovery must be reported to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and work cannot resume without proper authorisation.

The site will include a detention basin that captures and slowly releases stormwater to ensure post-development flows don’t exceed current levels. Protective earthworks along the northern boundary will also prevent external floodwaters from entering the site.

All site runoff will flow through a swale into a detention basin that removes over 90% of sediment and pollutants before discharge. This exceeds EPA South Australia standards for total suspended solids (80%), phosphorus (60%), and nitrogen (40%).