Council Presentation 17/4/25

It is deeply disappointing that this motion claims to seek “more information”, and yet tonight we had six or seven people ready to speak—experts, senior figures who could provide exactly the information the motion supposedly wants. But we were cut down to four speakers, strictly limited to three minutes each. When exactly is the learning supposed to begin?

This motion feels like when you’re pregnant—you go through nine months of nausea, growth, hair loss, and everything else. Then the baby is born, and someone runs into you on the street and says, “Oh, I didn’t know—that was quick!”. There has been a hell of a lot of work going on for 2-3 years, even if you were not part of the working group. I could have had three pregnancies in the time we’ve been working with Council staff and community on this project.

I understand this is new. I’m a mother myself, and I would never do anything to risk my own children or anyone else’s.

A line up of community members outside the council chambers — Community members looking to "save the battery" outside Narrabri Shire Council chambers

But let’s be clear: this project is new, not risky.

It’s worth noting that, based on global statistics, this battery is 2,000 times less likely to experience a fire incident than a hospital. A school is 252 times more likely to have a fire incident and cause problems for the battery. A house is 19 times more likely. And when a house burns, it emits the same toxic smoke as a battery would. The difference is that house fires are hotter—ten times more intense—and the heat spreads in all directions. Batteries are engineered to vent heat upwards in a controlled way.

The only real risk to a battery like this is from a bushfire, which is why this location—nowhere near bushland—is ideal.

Two quick clarifications from the last Council meeting:

The LEMC (Local Emergency Management Committee) has not objected to this project. We are working with them to provide the documentation they require. One member submitted a personal objection—not a position of the committee.
This battery uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (with an R)—not the type of lithium in e-scooters, drills, or phones.

This is the NSW Fire and Rescue Policy on community batteries. You can and should read it yourself. It provides clear guidance:

Batteries should be built at least 3 metres from other buildings—or 0.9 metres if surrounded by concrete.
There should be no vegetation nearby.
It should be elevated for flood protection and shielded from vehicles.
It should have vents, water access for fire response, and containment for run-off.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

This site meets every single requirement. We’ve been engaging with NSW Fire and Rescue for the past two years. We've spoken personally with every nearby resident, delivered a letter to each, and even ran an art lesson with Narrabri Public School students last year to decorate our mock battery.

Stage two of our consultation plan was scheduled to begin once an installation date was confirmed—giving us 6–8 weeks consultation period. But that date keeps getting pushed back… by this Council body.

Now there is talk of three more months of delay with no clear justification. This motion has already caused a month’s delay—on top of two years of planning. And still, it provides no clear path forward.

Council unanimously supported this project—9 to 0—back in 2023. Three of the current councillors voted for it then.

Every day of delay costs us. The battery was scheduled to be installed in March, and the hold-up is costing us every single day.

There’s also talk of moving the battery. This isn’t a couch. You can’t just pick it up and shift it. As Essential Energy has said, these are complex, time-consuming processes—and all the due diligence has already been done for this site.

We have followed every request, jumped through every hoop, and complied at every stage—for over two years. Council staff have worked to protect Council’s risk throughout. So—what actual information is missing? What do you still need?

Right now, we have no certainty.

This motion doesn’t say “we’re open for business”. Quite the opposite.

Now let me speak briefly about the community benefits of this project.

Geni.Energy is a not-for-profit, regulated by ASIC. All of our profits are directed to creating local benefits from renewable energy. That means all battery profits go into community renewable energy projects.

And the broader benefits?

We've had a main street shopfront for five years, open to the public, contributing over $120,000 to the local economy.
We've proudly sponsored Narrabri Junior Rugby Union for five years—thanks to them for being here tonight.
We've helped over 72 homes and businesses install solar and batteries—thanks also to some of those past customers for coming along.
We’ve installed 360kWh of batteries and 680kW of solar.
This saves over 1,034 tonnes of CO₂e annually, and generates 1.12GWh of clean energy every year for two decades—for free—for those homes and businesses.
We’ve created part-time and contract roles—shout out to Ange for coming tonight.
We’ve held dozens of public events, had hundreds of conversations, presented at three national conferences, and featured in local papers, The Land, Max FM, and both major TV networks over the past three years.
We communicate regularly with a database of over 1,000 people, maintain a resources webpage, write blogs, post on social media, and keep our office door open to the public.