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Legal status

Civilian nuclear power generation is currently prohibited in Australia. There is no lawful approval pathway for a civilian nuclear power reactor under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) s140A or the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (Cth) s10, and New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania impose additional state-level bans.

Every Australian scenario in this suite is therefore a hypothetical “what-if” model. Nothing here represents that deployment in Australia is imminent, presently lawful, or an invitation to invest. See the disclaimers.

Calculator hub  /  Module 03

Calculator 03

Noise Comparison

How does the sound level of a diesel plant of this class compare with the Australian noise criteria that would apply at a nearby receiver?

Receiver assumptions

7metres

7 m is the standard genset test distance for the source data used here. Moving the slider applies free-field geometric spreading only.

Maps to the NSW EPA recommended amenity bands in the Noise Policy for Industry.

Time of day

If you enter a measured rating background level, the NSW intrusiveness criterion (RBL + 5 dB(A), LAeq,15min) is shown alongside the amenity level. The applicable project noise trigger level is the more stringent of the two. No default RBL is supplied: it must be measured on site.

A different jurisdiction and a different measurement distance (7.5 m, not 7 m). Shown for reference only, never mixed into the NSW comparison.

Diesel genset at the selected distance

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Applicable NSW EPA amenity level

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Gap to the amenity level

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Intrusiveness criterion (RBL + 5)

No RBL supplied

Requires a site background-noise measurement.

Unity Battery acoustic level

Not available — no independently verified data published

This card will remain blank until Deployable Energy publishes independently verified acoustic test data. Until then no number is shown, no bar is drawn, and no comparative acoustic claim is made. Reactor type, the AUKUS programme, Australia’s medical-reactor history and the 2026 criticality milestone are not evidence of sound level.

Forward-looking illustration These outputs are forward-looking statements: scenario estimates built from the assumptions you have entered and the constants listed below. They are based on assumptions that may not prove correct and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results would differ materially. No representation or warranty is given as to the achievement of any figure shown. Outputs describe avoided cost, emissions or noise at a hypothetical operating site — they are not returns, yields, distributions or any measure of investment performance. Civilian nuclear power is not currently lawful in Australia, so this scenario could not be built today.

Diesel reference against the applicable criteria

Diesel genset, this class, at the selected distance (range) NSW EPA amenity level for the selected receiver and period Intrusiveness criterion, if an RBL is supplied

Measurement conventions are not interchangeable

Acoustic figures are only comparable when the measurement convention matches. Three different conventions appear in the source data for this module:

  • Sound pressure at 1 m — 79 dB(A) for an enclosed 500 kW–1.25 MW class genset at full load.
  • Sound pressure at 7 m — 70 dB(A) for the same unit; 69–80 dB(A) across load points and models in this class. This is the basis used for the comparison above.
  • Sound power level — 96 dB(A) for the same enclosed unit. Sound power is a property of the source, not a level at a location, and must never be compared directly against a receiver criterion.

Tasmanian portable-apparatus limits are expressed at 7.5 m and belong to a different regulatory framework. They are shown as a separate reference and are not normalised into the NSW comparison.

What the distance model does and does not do

  • Attenuation with distance uses free-field geometric spreading from a point source: 6 dB per doubling of distance. It is an idealisation.
  • It excludes ground effects, air absorption, barriers, reflections, meteorological effects, terrain shielding and directivity — all of which materially change real measured levels, in both directions.
  • A compliance assessment requires measured background levels, a modelled or measured source, and assessment against the applicable state framework. This module is an orientation tool, not an acoustic assessment.
  • Achieving substantial additional attenuation is not free: roughly 35 dB of extra attenuation on a ~2 MW-class installation has been reported to add US$100,000 or more in capital cost (CSE Magazine).

Method

The formulas, in full

L(d) = L(7m) − 20 × log10(d ÷ 7) where L(7m) is 69 dB(A) (low) to 80 dB(A) (high) for a 500 kW–1.25 MW class genset in an acoustic enclosure, across load points. Amenity trigger = NSW EPA recommended amenity level for the selected receiver type and period. Intrusiveness trigger = RBL + 5 dB(A), LAeq,15min (only if a measured RBL is entered). Applicable trigger = min(amenity, intrusiveness).

The NSW EPA recommended amenity levels applied are: rural residential day 50 / evening 45 / night 40; suburban residential day 55 / evening 45 / night 40; urban residential day 60 / evening 50 / night 45, all LAeq dB(A).

The gap shown is the arithmetic difference between the diesel reference at the selected distance and the applicable criterion. A positive gap means the diesel reference sits above the criterion at that distance on this idealised basis — which is why real diesel installations at sensitive sites carry enclosures, barriers, setbacks or all three.

Nothing in this module states or implies what a Unity Battery installation would measure.

Provenance

Constants and sources

General information only

This calculator provides general, illustrative information only about hypothetical energy-generation scenarios. It does not take into account your personal circumstances, objectives or financial situation, and does not constitute financial product advice, an offer of securities, or a recommendation to invest in Deployable Energy Fund Limited, Deployable Energy Limited, or any other entity. Figures are drawn from third-party Australian government, regulator and industry sources (cited on this page) and, where expressly badged, from Deployable Energy’s own unverified planning assumptions. They are provided for general educational and illustrative purposes only. The Unity Battery microreactor has not yet been deployed commercially, and civilian nuclear power generation is not currently permitted in Australia under the EPBC Act and the ARPANS Act (and, in several states, additional state legislation). Nothing on this page should be relied upon as a representation that deployment in Australia is imminent or currently lawful.

See the full disclaimers and important notices.