A green tick for 350 megawatts: Sundown solar wins federal approval in New England

The Sundown solar and battery project, planned for Spring Mountain about 30 kilometres east of Inverell in New South Wales' New England renewable energy zone, has secured federal environmental approval. The project pairs 350 megawatts of solar panels with a 150-megawatt, four-hour battery, and had already won state planning approval in August. The federal sign-off, granted under Australia's EPBC Act and valid to 2066, comes with conditions: biodiversity offsets and a management plan to be approved by the state planning secretary. Developer Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, can now move toward construction in one of the country's most contested — and sunniest — renewable zones.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: policy reform