Today, the Independent Planning Commission NSW (IPCN) released its decision on Verdant Earth Technology’s (Verdant) proposal to repurpose the Redbank Power Station to burn up to 850,000 tonnes of native forest and other biomass for electricity. We are pleased to share that the IPCN has refused this proposal.
Nearly 95% percent of submissions were against this proposal. Many of our key concerns with this project were echoed in the IPCN’s statement describing its reasons for refusal, including the:
- Adverse impacts on biodiversity, including indirect and cumulative impacts;
- Lack of transparency and certainty surrounding the proposed sourcing of biomass;
- Incentives to increase land-clearing created by this new market for biomass
- Significant annual increase in greenhouse gas emissions
Overall, the decision reflects badly on the assessment process conducted by the NSW Planning department.
What’s next?
We can’t rule out the possibility of Verdant appealing this decision in the Land and Environment Court, or submitting a new development application. The NSW Government can prevent this if it acts quickly to close a legal loophole to ensure this project - and those like it - cannot resurface. There must be reform to the NSW planning process that allowed this environmentally irresponsible proposal to progress in the first place, and significant strengthening of current land clearing provisions.
Thank you again to everyone who took action and made a submission - your input made a huge difference!