Pumped Hydro

The Tasmanian government is taking legal action against the owners of the Basslink Interconnector, seeking to recover more than $70 million owed because of a lengthy outage six years ago.

Australian renewable energy developer BE Power will continue to progress plans to construct a 400 MW pumped hydro storage project near Toowoomba in southeast Queensland after the local government authority gave the project its tick of approval.

Closed-loop pumped-hydro storage offers more chances to minimise environmental effects on water sources and overcomes the problem of finding suitable sites. According to an Australian research team, closed-loop systems could prevail on open-loop systems in the future and this trend is confirmed by another group of scientists from the United States.

The last of the New South Wales coal-fired power plants will be shut by 2040 at the latest after electricity gen-tailer EnergyAustralia announced it would bring forward the closure date of its 1.4 GW Mt Piper power station by two years.

The Clean Energy Regulator has issued its second Quarterly Carbon Market Report for the year. Despite Covid and justified investor caution on big renewable projects, indicators from small- and large-scale energy certificate accounting show steady growth.

Queensland’s transition to a renewable energy future is set to progress with the state government calling for tenders for the proposed 1 GW Borumba Dam pumped hydro energy storage project while work on a nearby 176 MW solar farm has also reached a new milestone.

New reports and modelling has led TasNetworks to further push its largest of four possible Marinus Link versions. The largest, a 1,500 MW interconnector between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, is being shown to provide benefits across the entire NEM through grid stability and downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices. But there is still some discussion about who should pay for it.

The Queensland government has today announced $22 million for detailed design and cost analysis for a new pumped hydro facility at Borumba Dam, west of the Sunshine Coast.

For the first time in almost four decades a pumped hydro energy storage plant is set to begin construction with the financial close of Genex Power’s Kidston Clean Energy Hub.

Hydrogen is the word on everyone’s lips as the Federal Government champions hubs of no particular colour. Seasoned clean players such as Energy Estate are identifying greenfield opportunities for renewable energy and industry to meet.