Pumped Hydro

EnergyAustralia has released the concept design for a 335 MW pumped hydro energy storage and generation project it plans to develop at Lake Lyell near Lithgow in central western New South Wales.

The Queensland government’s proposed 2 GW/48 GWh Borumba pumped hydro energy storage project continues to power ahead with a call for expressions of interest for underground works.

One of Queensland’s largest clean energy projects has reached a new milestone with exploratory works and detailed site investigations commencing for the proposed 2 GW Borumba Dam pumped hydro project being developed near Gympie in the state’s southeast.

Australia’s biggest coal miner has inked a major renewable energy deal that will utilise solar, wind and pumped hydro to provide about half the forecasted electricity demand of its central Queensland operations.

Snowy Hydro has revealed the budget for the Snowy 2.0 project has blown out to $12 billion (USD 7.8 billion) and the giant pumped hydro storage project is now expected to commence operations seven years later than originally scheduled.

The first pumped hydro energy storage project to be delivered in Australia in 40 years is on track for energisation in 2024 with developer Genex Power announcing that the Kidston pumped hydro project is now more than halfway through construction.

The energisation of two new battery projects totalling a combined 150 MW has seen the charging capacity from grid-scale battery energy storage systems surpass that of pumped hydro in Australia’s national grid.

A 325 MW/2,600 MWh pumped hydro project planned for the New South Wales central west faces an indefinite delay with developer Atco announcing it will hold off on the next stage of the regulatory approvals process until the state government’s policy frameworks “are close to being able to support financial investment decisions for large-scale infrastructure.”

Australian renewable energy developer Genex Power has entered into agreements with Japanese electric utility J-Power to receive a multi-million-dollar funding package that will support the delivery of its 2 GWh pumped hydro project in northern Queensland and the development of the 2 GW Bulli Creek solar and battery project in the state’s southeast.

New South Wales will be the test bed for the Commonwealth-funded Capacity Investment Scheme with the federal government to underwrite investment that will help deliver almost 1 GW of firmed renewable energy capacity to support the state’s rapidly changing energy market.