Ngaangk Boodja Battery & Solar Farm

Ngaangk Boodja Battery & Solar Farm

The Project

Nomad Energy and Atmos Renewables, through their joint venture BRM Solar Farm Nominee Pty Ltd, engaged Land Insights to secure development approval for a 100MW solar PV array integrated with a battery energy storage system on 230ha of rural land at Nangeenan, 7.5km southwest of Merredin. The site sits alongside the Western Power Merredin Terminal, in the same precinct as the Merredin Solar Farm and Merredin BESS. The application was assessed by the Regional Development Assessment Panel under the Shire of Merredin Local Planning Scheme No. 6.

The Challenge

As a “use not listed” proposal, the application had no directly applicable use class to rely on and required a bespoke planning pathway built around the WAPC’s Renewable Energy Facilities position statement. The proposed BESS layout also departed from convention, with battery units distributed throughout the solar array in a DC-coupled configuration rather than grouped in one location, a design choice that needed clear technical and planning justification. The application carried a full suite of technical studies, bushfire management, traffic, glint and glare, noise, visual impact, flora and vegetation, and Aboriginal heritage, that had to be integrated into a single, defensible case within a tight timeframe. Following RDAP consideration, several proposed conditions needed to be reworked for clarity and enforceability, and the standard two-year approval validity had to be argued up given the project’s scale and current supply chain uncertainty.

What We Did

Land Insights defined the statutory approval pathway, prepared the full Development Application report and planning justification, and coordinated the specialist technical consultant team. We prepared the Visual Impact Assessment in-house and supported Traditional Owner engagement with the Ballardong Aboriginal Corporation and Njaki Njaki group, including on the project name Ngaangk Boodja, meaning “Sun Country.” Following the RDAP’s consideration of the application, we reviewed the proposed conditions of approval clause by clause with the Shire, resolving duplication and ambiguity and negotiating an extended approval validity.

The Outcome

The application was lodged in December 2025 and development approval was granted in early May 2026, a fast turnaround for a facility of this scale requiring RDAP determination. A four-year approval window was secured, reflecting the project’s complexity and current supply chain uncertainty. The approved facility extends the established Merredin renewable energy precinct alongside the neighbouring Merredin Solar Farm and Merredin BESS, both delivered by the same Nomad-Atmos partnership. Agricultural use is retained across the balance of the site, remnant vegetation is protected, and the project is expected to generate up to 250 jobs during construction, with a peak workforce of around 200.

Learn more about our Renewable Energy Planning Services and how we support innovative low-impact energy solutions across the state.