Nick Cooke

NICK COOKE Question 1. Can council please confirm the total sum (in dollars) of council funding and grants given to Zero Emissions Noosa since its inception in 2017? Answer provided byKim Rawlings, Director Strategy and Environment Since 2017 Zen Inc has been successful in gaining $226,675 across the 7 years via various Council Community, Economic and Environment Grants and funding. Question 2. Since the proposed lithium ‘community batteries’ to be implemented by Noosa Council lay outside the criteria of ‘assessable development’ under the Planning Act 2016, can Council please confirm the type of application (if any), the criteria, processes and any risk assessments you will be using to assess the proposed batteries before their implementation? Answer provided by Kim Rawlings, Director Strategy and Environment Noosa Council, in partnership with Zero Emissions Noosa Inc. and Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), have been awarded $500,000 to install a community battery in Noosaville. Pad mounted batteries of less that 15m2 are not categorised an assessable development under Schedule 6 of the Planning Regulation. In accordance with Noosa Council’s Risk Management and Opportunity Framework, the Community Battery Project has been subject to number of assessments to identify and assess the risks across the lifecycle of the battery deployment. These assessments have considered the technology, site assessments, planning and environment, safety, cost.