Take Action for Forests

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.

Landclearing and associated habitat fragmentation is the single greatest threat to biodiversity in NSW. This proposal will provide further financial incentives for landclearing, all to feed its furnaces for electricity generation.

Submissions close on Monday, 18 August 2025.

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.

Landclearing and associated habitat fragmentation is the single greatest threat to biodiversity in NSW. This proposal will provide further financial incentives for landclearing, all to feed its furnaces for electricity generation.

Submissions close on Monday, 18 August 2025.

Stop the Redbank biomass-fired power station

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Dear Independent Planning Commission

Please accept my submission to the Restart of Redbank Power Station (SSD-56284960).
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposal to restart the Redbank Power Station using biomass sourced primarily from land clearing operations.

As someone deeply concerned about our environment and climate future, I believe this project poses unacceptable risks to biodiversity, our climate, and public trust in environmental regulation.

I am very concerned that the label of “renewable energy” is proposed to be applied to the destruction and burning of native vegetation and provide an incentive for increasing landclearing in NSW.

The proposal relies heavily on biomass from Invasive Native Species (INS) clearing, yet the supply chains are unverified and the projected yields are unrealistic. There is no credible assessment of whether sufficient biomass can be sourced sustainably or economically. Approving this project would likely incentivise an increase in land clearing, undermining NSW’s biodiversity goals and accelerating habitat loss.

The environmental impact is profound. Eastern NSW is recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot, and further clearing of native vegetation will threaten endangered species and fragment critical ecosystems. The EIS fails to assess these off-site impacts, which are central to the project’s footprint.

Additionally, the project’s carbon accounting is misleading. Burning biomass will release over 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, yet the proposal claims “net zero” emissions by ignoring the carbon released during clearing, processing, transport and combustion. This is not a genuine renewable energy solution.
Air pollution levels in the Singleton area already exceed national air standards for healthy air. This project will only make air quality worse, harming the health of people living in the Hunter Valley. 
Finally, this project lacks a social licence. There is widespread public opposition to native forest logging and land clearing. People in NSW want their forests and bushland protected, not chipped and burned for electricity.

I urge the Department and the Independent Planning Commission to reject this proposal and instead support truly sustainable energy solutions such as wind, solar, and storage, that protect our environment and climate.

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