Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind and rain that are renewable (naturally replenished).
The NSW Government has introduced a streamlined planning approvals regime for renewable energy covering both small scale and large scale systems. Renewable energy proposals are considered under different parts of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 as outlined below.
Large-scale renewable energy proposals
Under State Environmental Planning Policy (State and Regional Development) 2011 electricity generating works including renewable energy proposals such as wind farms with a capital cost of more than $30 million (or $10 million in an environmentally sensitive area) are considered as State Significant Development under Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
Have your say
Comments are welcome on Draft NSW Wind Farm Planning Guidelines which seek to provide a consistent framework for the assessment of wind farm development proposals. The guidelines outline how landscape and visual amenity, noise, economic, ecological and decommissioning and other issues will be considered by consent authorities. It also explains how wind farms will be subject to ongoing noise and other auditing processes.
The draft guidelines are on exhibition from 23 December 2011 until 14 March 2012
Further details are available in the On Exhibition section.
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Small-scale renewable energy proposals
Small-scale renewable energy proposals may be defined as ‘development permitted with consent’, ‘complying development’, ‘exempt development’ or ‘development permitted without consent’ in a local, regional or state planning instrument. State level provisions for small-scale renewable energy systems including photovoltaic systems, solar hot water systems, solar air heating systems, small wind turbine systems and wind monitoring towers are contained in State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 (“Infrastructure SEPP”). Additional provisions may be defined in the relevant local council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and / or Development Control Plan (DCP).
Useful resources
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Department of Planning & Infrastructure
Information Centre
Phone (02) 9228 6111
Email innovation@planning.nsw.gov.au