EPBC determined non-controlled action

6/10/2025

The Belah BESS has been determined as a EPBC non-controlled action by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, and the Environment & Water (DCCEEW).

This follows an assessment against the EPBC Act by DCCEEW of the projects environmental impacts and proposed mitigations put in place to limit harm to areas of habitat and ecological value.

The Belah BESS is located on existing cleared grazing land and has minimised it’s footprint to limit impact on vegetation. The project has taken the deliberate step in connecting the high voltage transmission that links the BESS to the Orana substation via an underground corridor, thereby achieving a reduced works corridor from 60m down to 20m.

The non-controlled actions means that DCCEEW is satisfied that the project will implement suitable environmental controls and has limited impact on areas of high value ecology.

The EPBC outcome is related to the Federal Government only and is separate from the Development Application process, with applications through local and state authorities due to commence shortly.