Pumped Storage Will Assist Energy Transition

An expansion of the Snowy Scheme’s pumped hydro storage capacity would assist in managing the future reliability of the electricity system, the energy industry said today.

Welcoming the announcement of a feasibility study into additional storage, the Australian Energy Council’s Chief Executive, Matthew Warren, said “as more intermittent renewable generation is built the importance of power storage and backup energy supply systems will only increase”.

“The addition of up to 2000MW of pumped hydro – effectively a massive battery within the National Electricity Market - would help facilitate a smooth transition to a lower emissions power grid.

“The key challenge to developing important projects of this type remains there being necessary energy policy certainty so that banks and other investors can commit.

“The energy system is dramatically changing.  We will need to spend more than $200 billion to rebuild a cleaner generation system for Australia by 2050.  Projects like expanded pumped hydro are typical of the sorts of projects that we will need to get the job done.

“It will take time to deliver a project of this scale. Pumped hydro is a proven and highly effective way to store energy and Snowy Hydro has been a leader in this technology in Australia for decades.”

About the Australian Energy Council

The Council represents 21 major electricity and downstream natural gas businesses operating in competitive wholesale and retail energy markets. These businesses collectively generate the overwhelming majority of electricity in Australia and sell gas and electricity to over 10 million homes and businesses.

Media contact             Carl Kitchen                0401 691 342