CFA supports planning authorities, designers, and operators of renewable energy facilities by providing guidance on bushfire risk, fire safety and emergency planning.
CFA Design Guidelines and Model Requirements for Renewable Energy Facilities (v4, 2023)
For large-scale renewable energy facilities, CFA has developed the Design Guidelines and Model Requirements for Renewable Energy Facilities (PDF 15.2MB).
This guideline contains CFA's expectations for the planning, design and operation of renewable energy facilities to ensure bushfire risk and safety measures are considered. This includes solar facilities, wind facilities, and facilities with large-scale battery energy storage system. This guideline is regularly updated.
Recent Updates
- June 2025 (v4.4): Updated fire safety study (p. 13) and community battery (p. 48) content to refer to new guidelines.
- January 2025 (v4.3): Minor wording update to clarify requirements for fire water supplies at micro solar facilities (p. 20).
- July 2024: Fire water storage tanks. AS 2419.1-2021 requires steel fire water tanks used as either full-capacity tanks, reduced-capacity tanks or break tanks, to conform with AS 2304. CFA advises that for renewable energy facilities, for fire water tanks of a capacity at or below 45,000L, not connected to a hydrant system, CFA will accept fire water tank construction in accordance with AS 2419.1-2005.
CFA Community and Neighbourhood Battery Guidelines (v1.3, June 2025)
For community and neighbourhood scale batteries, CFA has developed the Community and Neighbourhood Battery Energy Storage System Guideline (PDF 2.1MB).
This guideline contains fire risk management and safety considerations for the siting, installation, management, monitoring, marking and maintenance of community batteries.
Project proponents should contact CFA’s Specialist Risk and Fire Safety Unit as early as possible during project planning and design to ensure that fire risk is effectively considered and managed.
CFA Fire Safety Studies for Battery Energy Storage Systems Guidelines (v1, June 2025)
To support assessment of the required fire safety measures for battery projects, CFA has developed the Fire Safety Studies for Battery Energy Storage Systems (PDF 3.3MB) guideline.
CFA may request the preparation of a fire safety study for large-scale battery energy storage systems where the design, capacity, complexity, location or proposed operations necessitate an enhanced, detailed analysis of requirements for fire and explosion safety systems.
Fighting fires at renewable energy facilities.
CFA is also working with its members across Victoria on how to safely fight fires at renewable energy facilities. Below is a video of the Glenrowan, Winton and Wangaratta North Brigades going through the steps of how to fight a fire on the Glenrowan West Solar Farm.
CFA has developed new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for fighting fires at renewable energy facilities. SOPs provide advice to CFA members about how to safely assess and manage fires at renewable energy facilities.
CFA Guidelines for the Provision of Emergency Information (2019)
CFA recommends the provision of Emergency Information Books (PDF 1.9MB) for
the use of emergency responders at all renewable energy facilities.
Emergency Information Books contain key information for emergency
responders arriving on-site during emergencies.
Page last updated: Tuesday, 10 June 2025 5:10:45 PM