Redbank to be fired up on native veg!
We were gravely concerned this Redbank biomass-fired power station proposal would accelerate habitat loss by creating an incentive to clear native vegetation that otherwise would never be cleared.
December 2025
The plan to convert the shuttered Redbank coal power station to a biomass burner will go to court, as its backer appeals a rejection by the New South Wales (NSW) final planning arbiter.
Verdant Earth Technologies has filed an appeal with the Land and Environment Court after the state’s Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected its planning application in September, claiming they didn’t get a chance to address certain aspects in front of the IPC, and the appeal is a chance to offer a full throated rebuttal. Read more here.
September 2025
A big win!
We were gravely concerned this Redbank biomass-fired power station proposal would accelerate habitat loss by creating an incentive to clear native vegetation that otherwise would never be cleared.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected Verdant Earth Technologies’ latest attempt to fire up furnaces to burn forests and native shrublands for power.
The Nature Conservation Council (NCC), for which EcoNetwork affiliates,
- commissioned expert reports on biodiversity and climate impacts to challenge the project.
- presented evidence to the Independent Planning Commission.
- drafted submission guides that helped to generate 591 unique submissions (94.6% opposing the project).
In coming together, we multiply our power. NCC reports that the IPC decision explicitly cited NCC’s expert evidence and community submissions. NCC thanked their many partners, the Environment Defenders Organisation for their legal advice, scientists for their expertise, North East Forest Alliance, and local Hunter Valley groups for their tireless work in the fight against this disastrous proposal.
The NPA, the National Parks Association (Hunter Region), who also presented to the IPC, commented that the IPC found that the Project’s fuel strategy could be expected to provide a direct financial incentive for clearing native vegetation in western NSW. It concluded that the biodiversity impacts had not been assessed, nor were they capable of being resolved through conditions of consent. NPA (Hunter Region) lodged a submission that advanced substantially the same argument (you can read it here).
The NPA (Hunter) said this is a significant outcome, as proposals for ‘State significant development’ are not often refused. The outcome also highlights the failings of the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure whose uncritical assessment report had actually recommended the proposal be approved.
See Econetwork submission and KKEPS submission objecting to the proposal.
The Office of the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) NSW described the process and what happens next.
About the process
This decision has been made following a comprehensive process including hearing from relevant stakeholders and the community and considering the whole-of-government assessment conducted by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
The Commission has published its Statement of Reasons for Decision which provides a detailed explanation of the decision.
You can view all information and documents related to this project through the IPC’s website link:
What happens next?
Now that the Application has been determined, the Commission has no further decision-making or oversight functions on this matter.
The Applicant or other people who have made a submission on this matter may be able to appeal the IPC’s decision in the Land and Environment Court of NSW. In these circumstances, decisions on the appeal, Court process and Application will be made by the Court.
We note that the proponent has not announced whether they will be appealing against the decision.
August 2025
Adapted from the National Parks Association Hunter Nature News
2025 No. 3 | 31 July
Help stop the Redbank biomass-fired power station
Please make a submission to prevent native vegetation and forests from being burned for electricity.
Verdant Earth Technologies proposes to restart the Redbank Power Station near Singleton, burning up to 850,000 tonnes of biomass annually. Native vegetation, primarily from land clearing, will provide the bulk of this in the first years of operation. Alarmingly, loopholes for the use of native forests for power generation still exist and could be utilised by future governments to allow native forests to be burned.
Located at Warkworth (near Singleton), Redbank was approved in 1994 as an incineration facility for reject coal tailings. It operated between 2001 and 2014, but was never successful. The current proposal is to repurpose the facility to run on “non-forestry sourced biomass”.
A development application to reactivate Redbank Power Station is currently before the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
The Planning Department has deemed the project approvable but has received more than 250 public objections. It’ll now be up to the commission to make the final determination.
Initially, 70% of the biomass is to be sourced from “invasive native species”, which is code for native vegetation regrowth in western NSW. In later years 70% of the biomass is to be sourced from “purpose grown fuel crops”, which is likely to mainly comprise coppiced eucalyptus plantations.
Conservation groups are gravely concerned that the proposal will accelerate habitat loss by creating an incentive to clear native vegetation that otherwise would never be cleared (for example, upper Hunter mine rehabilitation areas and native woodlands in western NSW).
The best use for these habitats will be to maximise their role for carbon storage and biodiversity conservation, not to feed them into a furnace.
The proposal will also have significant other impacts, particularly in relation to biosecurity and truck movements (a total of 112 truck movements per day).
Documents relating to the Redbank proposal can be viewed on the NSW Planning Portal.
A submission guide prepared by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW is available here.
Written submissions must be received by 5 pm on Mon 18 August, and can be lodged via an online form on the IPC website.
Koala Koalition EcoNetwork Port Stephens, submitted in Feb 2024 to the initial proposal to restart Redbank power station here