What is BESS for the Green Wedge?
by JAMES POYNER
21st September 2026
AN ENERGY project in Doreen has nearby residents concerned.
The Middle Hut Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) proposal is for a 290-megawatt battery energy storage site across 14 hectares on Middle Hut Road, Doreen, which is part of the Nillumbik Green Wedge and in a designated bushfire-prone area.
Nillumbik residents opposing the project have been voicing their concerns on social media and encouraged residents to attend a community drop-in session at the end of August, facilitated by engagement consultancy firm Cogency.
A community representative told MN Bulletin that many who attended were disappointed and disenfranchised as there was no chance to voice concerns about the project.
“They refused to provide any spoken presentations and would only speak one-on-one or in a ‘small group’ to the attendees.
The materials provided were very rough and rudimentary (such as the ‘concept’ that failed to acknowledge or address the slope, as if it simply did not exist.
Many people had different answers from different members of the Cogency team, and those who did speak with the representatives came away with many unanswered questions.
A planning engagement expert who attended the consultation referred to it as the ‘dad model’ — decide, announce, defend.”
The Community Representative said one of their biggest concerns is the increased bushfire risk.
“I am concerned about the interactions between the BESS facility and the fire prone landscape, which could go in either direction.
“There is no doubt that Lithium batteries are highly flammable which means that the BESS would act as a source of ignition within this fire-prone, green wedge landscape.
“This community is still scarred by Black Saturday.
“However, bushfire is not merely a historical issue but one that we deal with and feel deeply in advance of every fire season and especially the extreme or catastrophic risk days.
|“The relaxed attitude towards the major threat of bushfire was a huge concern on the day.”
Nillumbik Council has also released a statement.
“This proposal will not be assessed through a Nillumbik planning permit application.
Instead, it is expected to be considered by the Minister for Planning under the Significant Economic Development provisions (Clause 53.22 of the Nillumbik Planning Scheme).
As part of that process, the application will likely be referred to Council for comment.
The proposal will need to be publicly advertised, giving residents and other interested parties an opportunity to make a submission or object.
Those submissions will be considered as part of the Minister’s assessment.
The final decision will be made by the Minister for Planning.
There are no third-party appeal rights for either Council or the community in relation to the Minister’s decision under this process.
Council has not formed a position on the proposal at this stage.
Any submission from Council would be based on an assessment of the application and supporting technical reports once they are formally referred to Council.”
Energy industry experts have stated that with the inevitable closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power station and increasing demands on electrical energy, Victoria’s energy resilience is reliant on the planned construction of new renewable energy projects.
Part of this is a network of battery storage systems.
Tennant Reed, Director of Climate Change and Energy at the Australian Industry Group, explained why battery storage systems are important and the work being done to mitigate fire risk.
“Batteries of all scales are currently fundamentally transforming the electricity market.
They are having a really important effect, both from the quadrupling of large-scale battery dispatch over the past year and the enormous growth in small-scale household batteries under the Federal Government’s incentive program.
These are pushing gas peakers out of the evening peak support role, so they are lowering evening electricity prices, and they are upping demand and, very slightly, prices in the middle of the day when we’ve got this huge amount of rooftop solar and large-scale solar transforming the system.
So, all up, they are becoming really important to reliability, and they are smoothing out prices at a lower overall level.”
Mr Reed went on to say that while there is a perceived risk of fire with lithium batteries, new chemistries are being developed here and overseas which provide better energy storage and are less flammable, such as sodium-ion batteries which are gaining popularity in China.
“I would not say there is zero risk with battery facilities.
“Every energy asset needs careful management for safety.”
In terms of existing energy resilience, Nillumbik Council has the following assets:
- Hurstbridge Community Hub
- Wadambuk St Andrews Community Centre
- Hurstbridge Football and Cricket Pavilion
Council also has an emergency resilience battery at the Diamond Creek Community Bank Stadium that can back up power supply when it’s operating as an emergency relief centre.
The Doreen community representative said they were unsure that BESSs are the right way forward.
“Australian’s have been world leaders in their uptake of home solar — and now batteries — but as reward for their early investment the payback seems to be to take the benefit and control out of household’s hands and budgets, and to deliver it into the control of private operators.
There are still a lot of questions around BESSs.
It may be that they form part of the solution, but this should be decided through scientific consensus and planning strategy, and not by the lobbyist and developer led ‘investment’.
I wonder if we can get at least part of the way to an all-electric transition by the use of household and business batteries linked into the grid.”
The planning application for the Middle Hut BESS is expected to be lodged in September with the Planning Minister.
It is understood the planning application will go out for public exhibition, where formal submissions for and against the project can be made.
With the next State Election in November, it is also expected that energy resilience will be a major campaign issue for major and minor parties.
What do you think?
The advantages and disadvantages of this project impact us all.
Energy resilience, environmental protection, the role of the Green Wedge, and bushfire risk are all impacted by the outcomes of this project, so we want to know what you think.
Send us your thoughts to bulletin@warrandytediary.com.au.
Feature photo: Camilla Battery Storage Site UK – Photo: BILL KASMAN
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