Snowy 3.0? Experts say Australia has ‘so many good sites’ for more pumped hydro | Environment

“border frame=”0” class=”dcr-ivsjvk”>

The fact that the basic hydropower technology has been known for a century is one reason why schemes like this are playing an important role in helping Australia – and many other countries – reach net zero emissions. Among the six projects recently implemented: Fast track planning approval granted In New South Wales, three of them are pumped hydropower.

Elsewhere, GenX, a listed company being bought for $380 million by Japan’s JPower, hopes to deliver strong growth in its business. Kidston Hydroelectric Power Station An old gold mine in Queensland will be operational by the first quarter of 2025. Retailer Zen Energy hopes to capitalize on the Sydney’s main water dam for $4 billion project to power the city’s rapidly growing west, while renewable energy investor North Harbour is set to announce a tunnel-free project soon.

Andrew Blakers, emeritus professor of engineering at the Australian National University, says Snowy’s plight might have been mitigated if the Turnbull government had considered alternative sites for Snowy 2.0. These sites could one day become Snowy 3.0, Snowy 4.0 or beyond.

There’s a whole herd [of prospective sites] “Just west of the Talbingo reservoir that will serve as the lower dam for the Suny Hydro,” he says, citing Australian National University Online Atlas Which has been identified as more than 600,000 suitable sites for hydroelectric power worldwide.

“You can put anything from two hours to 1,500 gigawatt hours. [of storage]”You have many good sites.”

Snowy itself identified four sites for compact hydropower as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme Augmentation Classification Study in 1991, as noted in Environmental Impact Study 2.0although it has never been revealed what these things are.

But the atlas reveals a site of similar size, but one that would require a tunnel only one-eighth the current 27km. Moving forward with the project would require workers, machinery, transmissions and even the Talbingo Dam, says Bleckers.

The ANU tool reveals many sites, such as one near the Illawarra south of Sydney, where there is steep vertical distance and access to water sources such as the ocean. Blakers says he was “very proud” that the Queensland government used it to locate the proposed 5GW Pioneer-Burdekin hydropower project, It is probably the largest in the world.

Pumped hydropower has its critics. Friction and other losses mean that the round trip efficiency is typically no more than 75%.

Lithium prices fall More than three quarters since late 2022 Because of China’s oversupply, this means batteries offer competitive energy storage that can be built quickly — especially compared to the decades needed for hydropower generation.

Bruce Mountain, Victoria’s Chief energy The gap is “growing increasingly wide,” the policy center says.

Chemical solutions increasingly appear to be eating up supplies of long-lasting materials. [more than four hours] “The bulk of the potential supply,” Mountain says. [pump hydro sites have] “The market is small and increasingly competitive.”

While AGL Energy and EnergyAustralia – the backers of two of the three projects granted NSW critical infrastructure status – are moving forward, Origin Energy has chosen not to expand its existing Shoalhaven hydroelectric power station south of Sydney.

“Due to higher than expected price estimates from construction contractors, Origin has taken the decision not to proceed with plans to expand the Shoalhaven hydroelectric power station at this time,” a company spokesperson said.

“[It] “Advanced development remains an option, and Origin continues to take the necessary steps to secure the necessary environmental and regulatory approvals, and will retest pricing at a future opportunity when economic and market factors change.”

Deb Frecklington, who could become Queensland’s energy minister if the Liberal National Party wins the October 26 election, Pledged to cancel the $12 billion+ Pioneer-Burdekin project“The high costs of this project will inevitably lead to higher energy prices in Queensland,” she said in June. “This is a project that requires no direct funding, no approvals, no social licence.”

But the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation considers pumped water a viable option in all states except Western Australia, according to its report. Storage Roadmap Report 2023.

“At the international level, [pumped hydro] “It is a competitive commercial technology that is being widely deployed around the world,” the statement said.

In fact, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been promoting the technology — and the ANU Atlas — to help neighbouring countries from Nepal to Vietnam. Decarbonizing economies To combat global warming.

“Australia’s support for pumped hydro storage enables partner countries to assess the potential of pumped hydro as part of their transition to clean energy and make informed decisions about the transition path that is most suitable for them,” a department spokesperson said.

The country is proposing six more plants, including three that are close to decision-making, says Jamie Pittock, a professor at the Australian National University who recently took part in a project meeting inside a generator cabin at one of Thailand’s three hydropower plants. Cambodia and Vietnam are also considering three such plants.

“One advantage for developing countries is that most of them have the engineering capacity to lead these projects, and most of the capital investment is spent in-country on civil engineering,” says Pittock. “So these countries retain much more value than they would get by importing technology like batteries.”

And since many of these countries have centralized power grids, “when the transformation happens in Southeast Asia, it will happen very quickly,” he says.

For Australia, the estimated 65,000 abandoned mine sites – according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation – offer many of the combinations of disturbed ground and vertical gradient necessary for hydroelectric power.

For example, Zen Energy’s project will use a 50-metre-deep, dilapidated sink of coal dust and waste as an overhead tank. The company has received approval from WaterNSW to begin feasibility studies for a 3km tunnel to Lake Burragorang, which could support 1GW – half of the annual 2.0GW – and power a third of Sydney’s homes by 2031.

“We hope to have a price tag of less than $3 million per megawatt,” says Zein CEO Anthony Garnot. “At current prices, that’s competitive with a six-hour battery,” he says, adding that pumped hydro “has a lifespan of 80 years” compared to 25 years or less for lithium.

Tony Schultz, managing director of North Harbour, says his company has a number of similar projects in the works, including a multi-million dollar project that will be announced soon.

The project will use pipes instead of tunnels to save costs and reduce risks. Water will be lost only through evaporation, he says, “which will solve the water quality problem as well.” Approvals and construction are expected to take five years.

“It’s a great technology, it’s a proven technology, and it has a place in the energy system of the future,” Schultz says.

“The scale of the challenge in terms of the final shutdown of thermal or coal-fired power generation is much greater than what the Sunny 2.0 project will be able to provide.”