Renewable energy project planning and approvals

When planning or commencing a renewable energy project, you must obtain access to suitable and available land and follow the relevant development assessment processes.

Site identification and land access

Contact these departments for assistance as the first stage of your project plan.

The Coordinator-General has statutory powers that can assist projects proponents in gaining access to land for investigations and temporary works in some circumstances in state development areas and for some specially approved private infrastructure facilities. This includes the power to compulsorily acquire land or easements to assist public and private proponents to deliver a project.

The Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (DSDIP) has established relationships with land use planning and property development stakeholders (e.g. local government and commercial real estate agents). DSDIP can work across these organisations to identify and assess suitable parcels of land for renewable projects. Depending on land tenure, they can facilitate discussions with state agencies for state land.

Navigate the development assessment process

As a project proponent, you need to consider planning and environmental requirements under the relevant Australian, Queensland and local government legislation applying to the site. These requirements will vary depending on the type of project, site characteristics and constraints, and the assessing authority's legislative frameworks.

You should contact local, state and federal government agencies early in the project planning stage to understand:

  • what matters need to be addressed in the development application
  • whether you need any further approvals which sit outside of the planning and development assessment framework.

Queensland Government assessment

DSDIP is responsible for Queensland's planning framework under the Planning Act 2016.

Under this framework, development assessment processes are subject to the development assessment system. Some projects may also be subject to the community benefit system.

DSDIP is also responsible, through the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA), for assessing development that could impact on matters of interest to Queensland against the State Development Assessment Provisions.

As part of its assessment, SARA may seek technical advice from other Queensland Government agencies and you may be required to obtain other approvals.

You can obtain information on some of the main issues that could impact your project by following the links below. Ensure that you contact the relevant agency to check requirements.

Development subject to the community benefit system

The community benefit system requires proponents of prescribed development to undertake a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and enter into a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with the relevant local government prior to lodging a development application.

Renewable energy developments can have significant social, economic and environmental impacts on local regional communities. The following developments require social impact assessment and are therefore subject to the community benefit system:

  • a wind farm
  • a solar farm that has a maximum instantaneous electricity output of 1MW or more
  • a battery storage facility that has a maximum instantaneous electricity output of 50MW or more.

Wind farm, solar farm and battery storage facility are land use terms defined in the Planning Regulation 2017.

There are exceptional circumstances where a proponent may request the requirement for a SIA and/or CBA to be waived prior to lodging a development application, such as instances where a SIA has identified no or only minor social impacts associated with a development. Information on this process can be found at Renewable energy.

More information and guidance material can be found in the links below:

Development assessment

Development applications for all Queensland wind farms, solar farms with a maximum instantaneous electricity output of 1MW or more, and battery storage facilities with a maximum electricity output of 50MW or more must be lodged with SARA. This includes all wind farms, solar farms and battery storage facilities in priority development areas, regardless of size.

These developments will be assessed against the relevant state codes of the State Development Assessment Provisions, being:

  • State code 23: Wind farm development
  • State code 26: Solar farm development
  • State code 27: Battery storage facility development

These codes provide a consistent, coordinated, whole-of-government approach to assessing and regulating these developments across Queensland. They help achieve quality renewable energy outcomes while protecting communities from adverse impacts from wind farm, solar farm and battery storage facility development.

SARA will give consideration to local government planning schemes when assessing these development types.

Contact the relevant local government for the assessment of solar farm proposals with a maximum instantaneous output below 1MW, where not located in a priority development area.

Impact assessable applications

All wind farm, solar farm and battery storage facility developments under the Planning Act are impact assessable, meaning development applications require public notification and allow for the lodgement of submissions regarding the proposal, which the assessment manager must consider when making their decision, Additionally, third-party appeal rights are available to submitters.

The Development Assessment Rules outline how public notification is required to be undertaken and include public notification requirements specific to developments subject to the community benefit system.

Local government assessment

Renewable energy projects that do not require assessment by SARA (e.g. solar farms with a maximum instantaneous electricity output less than 1MW), are assessed by local governments and must comply with development assessment requirements in local government planning schemes.

You should contact the relevant local government to determine these requirements and if any other assessing authority will be involved in the assessment process.

Social License Toolkit

The Social Licence in Renewable Energy Toolkit for Local Government assists councils understand their roles in renewable energy projects and how to support the social licence for new projects. The tools have been designed to be considered by councils with respect to renewable energy projects for wind farms, solar farms and battery storage facility developments assessable under the Planning Act. While the toolkit was prepared for local governments it may contain information and guidance of relevance to proponents.

The toolkit does not apply to coordinated projects declared under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.

Approvals for complex projects

There are several assessment pathways you can follow for complex renewable energy projects.

DSDIP can assist project proponents map out the development approval processes for more complex large-scale renewable energy projects (e.g. with a hydro-electric or geothermal component or a combination of wind, solar and battery storage).

Projects declared under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (SDPWO Act) can use powers under the act to assist with project delivery. The relevant minister may declare a project to be a 'prescribed project' under Part 5A of the SDPWO Act if the project is of significance, economically and socially, to Queensland or a region of Queensland.

A prescribed project declaration enables the Coordinator-General, if necessary, to intervene in the approvals process in a number of ways to ensure timely decision making for the prescribed project.

Electrical safety and workplace health and safety

Renewable energy projects in Queensland must comply with the:

For more information, visit Renewable energy generation on WorkSafe website.

Road access and impacts

The Department of Transport and Main Roads administers approvals to access a state-controlled road under the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994. An agreement with the department for the electricity transmission route, grid connection and maintenance must be negotiated if a project requires access to a state-controlled road corridor.

Proponents must also consider impacts to the operation, safety and condition of roads and railway level crossings resulting from project traffic.

For more information, contact a Transport and Main Roads regional office.

Australian Government assessment

Heavy vehicles

If the vehicles associated with the development are classed as heavy vehicles, you will need to make a separate application for a heavy vehicle permit from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).

Environmental assessments

If your renewable energy project is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, you need to refer your development to the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).

The EPBC Act provides a legal framework to protect and manage matters of national environmental significance.

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