18 July 2025
The community will be able to have its say at a public meeting on the Restart of Redbank Power Station project, a State significant development application (SSD-56284960) submitted by Verdant Earth Technologies Ltd seeking approval to modify the Redbank Power Station at Warkworth to be fueled by biomass instead of coal tailings.
The power station, which went into care and maintenance in 2014, is at 112 Long Point West Road approximately 10 km west of Singleton in the Singleton Local Government Area.
The applicant proposes to restart the power station by using up to 700,000 dry tonnes per year of biomass as fuel. The power station has a capacity of up to 151 MW of dispatchable energy and would operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The application is expected to create approximately 330 construction jobs and up to 60 operational jobs.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has completed its whole-of-government assessment and has now referred this application to the Independent Planning Commission for determination. The Commission is the consent authority because more than 50 unique public objections were received for the application.
Commissioners Professor Neal Menzies AM (Chair), Ms Alex O'Mara, and Professor Elizabeth Taylor AO have been appointed by the Commission Chair to determine the application.
Key issues identified in the Department’s whole-of-government assessment of the development application include the types of waste proposed as fuel, greenhouse gas emissions, impacts on air quality, biodiversity and truck movements.
The Commission has access to all previous written submissions made to the Department on this application, however it is particularly helpful for the Commission Panel to also hear the community’s views on the Department’s Assessment Report, which can be found on the Commission’s website.
A public meeting on the proposed Restart of Redbank Power Station will be held at the Singleton Civic Centre located at 12 Queen St, Singleton on Monday 11 August 2025, commencing at 10:00AM (AEST). Anyone wishing to present at the public meeting must pre-register on the Commission’s website using the Speaker Registration Form. The deadline for speaker registrations is 12:00PM (noon) AEST on Friday 1 August 2025.
The Commission is also inviting the public to make written submissions which can be lodged via the ‘Make a Submission’ portal on the Commission’s website. The Commission will also accept submissions made via post or email.
Written submissions will be accepted until 5:00pm on Monday 18 August 2025.
Please note:
The public meeting will be livestreamed on the Commission’s YouTube channel. Registered speakers will be asked to nominate their preference for presenting at the Public Meeting either in-person at the venue or by dialing in by telephone. If demand for either in-person or virtual attendance is low, the Commission may opt to conduct the meeting either entirely virtually or entirely in person. If demand for speaker timeslots is high and Monday 11 August 2025 becomes fully booked, the Commission will endeavour to schedule a 2nd day. Any changes will be communicated to all registered speakers in advance, including how we can assist people to attend the meeting virtually. These flexible arrangements ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to be heard, while also making best use of public resources