BRUCE Richards from Lower Mount Walker - I hear you.

Big Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) projects can seem like they’re dreamt up in a boardroom far away, with promises that don’t always make it home to the people living here.

That’s not how we’re doing this.

I’ve called this region home for more than 25 years, and I’m tackling the Bremer Battery the same way I approach my veterinary work: be open, be straight, and put the community first.

Ipswich already knows BESS. Council has approved several including the Octopus Blackstone Battery and Energex’s neighbourhood battery trial.

Bremer Battery follows the same safe, proven model but with layers of governance. It’s got to meet Queensland and Australian laws, pass independent safety and environmental reviews, and clear nine separate reports before it gets the green light.

No handshake deals. Everything’s on record.

Energy’s moving fast, and storage like this is key to keeping up.

Coal runs out and leaves empty sites behind. A grid-connected battery can be charged and recharged over and over, giving us a steady supply of power and the chance to build long-term jobs and opportunities.

BESS facts: No fire risk – no “runaway burn” like older lithium-ion batteries; no electromagnetic radiation; only built under or near existing Powerlink grid lines; must pass strict safety checks before approval; stores energy in low-demand periods, releases it when needed; keeps the grid steady, reliable, efficient – more cost effective, and future-ready.

Zanthea Chulio an experienced South East Queensland community comms person from dairy farming stock will be at Rosewood – either at the library or the Rosewood pub next door. Meetings will be informal – listening and bringing people up-to-speed on the slow progress over the past 18 months.

— Rod Stephenson, for and on behalf of Libra Energy Directors, Bremer Battery Project