Australia's ambitious Snowy 2.0 hydropower project has faced another setback, with an anticipated delay of up to two years now likely to push the start-up date out to 2028. This could increase the project's overall cost and will come as a blow to the government's plans to generate 82% of the east coast's power from renewables by 2030, up from 30% today.
The government-owned company, Snowy Hydro, cited a shortage of skilled workers, complex designs, soft ground, and supply chain disruptions as reasons for the delay. The project, which will add 2,000 MW of capacity, aims to pump water uphill into a dam when power prices are low and release the water downhill to generate power when prices and demand are high. It will store enough energy to power three million homes for a week.
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Dennis Barnes, CEO of Snowy Hydro, sought to reassure stakeholders, stating, “We are proactively managing the inevitable issues and challenges that arise in a complex project like this.” However, Barnes did not give any indication of the expected cost overrun, which the company said was “under review.”
This is not the first time that the project has been delayed. The government had initially hoped it would be completed by 2021, but this deadline was later pushed out to 2026. Despite these delays, the government remains committed to the Snowy 2.0 project, which will replace the capacity from three coal-fired power stations that are due to close by 2028.
The project's construction involves boring 27 km (17 miles) of waterway tunnels connecting two existing dams and excavating a vast cavern between them for an underground power station. However, work on a key section was paused in March after a ground collapse, highlighting the complexity of the project.
Commenting on the delay, John Grimes, CEO of the Smart Energy Council, said, “This is a stark reminder that we need to invest more in renewables, not less. We need to build more projects like Snowy 2.0, and we need to do it quickly.”
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The delay to Snowy 2.0 is just one of many challenges faced by Australia's renewables sector, which is grappling with the need to modernize its energy infrastructure while also phasing out coal-fired power. However, with the right investment and support, the sector has the potential to become a leading force in the country's economy.
As Grimes noted, “Australia can be a renewable energy superpower, but we need the political will and the right policies to get us there.” With the government's commitment to reaching 82% renewables by 2030, there is reason to believe that Australia's clean energy transition is on the right track.
