Pursuant to section 72 of the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act 2023 (HRE Act) the Minister must, in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Regulations 2024 (HRE Regulations), undertake public consultation on:
- an environmental impact report (EIR)
- a statement (or revised statement) of environmental objectives (SEO)
- a scoping report.
An EIR and SEO must be prepared as part of an application for a licence under the HRE act. For more information on the approvals process under the HRE Act, refer to the licencing and approvals webpage.
Prior to an EIR and SEO becoming available for public consultation pursuant to section 72 of the HRE Act, the proponent developing the EIR and SEO must have undertaken consultation on the documents with relevant stakeholders in accordance with regulation 33 of the HRE Regulations. The outcomes of the proponent's consultation are reported in the EIR, as required by the HRE Regulations.
While legislative obligations must be met, the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) has adopted recognised national regulatory principles and approaches including engagement and accountability. Public consultation underpins these principles and approaches.
It is recognised that:
- It is essential to engage with people and communities who are directly affected by or have an interest in the proposal.
- It is essential for people and communities who are directly affected, or have an interest in the proposal, to have an opportunity to understand and provide comment on the potential impacts, the prosed controls or mitigation strategies for those impacts, and the regulatory obligations that have been committed to.
- Communities have a wealth of knowledge about their local environment that may not be available to the proponent or DEM through formal records.
- Benefits for both the local community and the proponent may be identified through two-way flow of information between the community and proponents.
This is an opportunity for the community to understand the proposal and scope of the operation, and to make comment on the proposal.
As well as the notice on this website, public notices inviting public comment may also be posted in an appropriate newspaper, or newspapers, and will also be provided to the local council and the landowner of the site.
DEM seeks comment from the public that are specific to the content of an EIR, SEO and/or scoping report.
Open consultations
| Project | Company | Location | Closing date for submissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emeroo Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) within the Bungala Solar Farm | Potentia Energy (formerly Enel Green Power Australia) | 10 km north-east of Port Augusta | 28 May 2025 |
Submit your comments on the Emeroo BESS project
Comments are invited on the following documents submitted by Potentia Energy:
- Emeroo BESS Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (PDF, 3.9 MB)
- Emeroo BESS Statement of Environmental Objectives (SEO) (PDF, 1.1 MB)
You can submit your views by providing comments directly in the submission form, or you can upload your comments to the submission form as a separate document.
Contact for more information
If you have any questions about the consultation process contact:
- Email: Jarrod.Spencer@sa.gov.au
- Phone: +61884292447
