PM says expansion of Snowy Mountains Scheme an ‘electricity game-changer’
MALCOLM Turnbull is set to announce his biggest and most expensive vision since becoming PM under a surprise multibillion-dollar plan to drive down power bills for struggling households.
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PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull will supercharge and expand the country’s iconic Snowy Mountains Scheme under a surprise multibillion-dollar plan to drive down power bills.
Mr Turnbull will today reveal “Snowy Mountains 2.0”, his biggest and most expensive vision since becoming Prime Minister. It is an ambitious power play he says will generate enough energy to power 500,000 homes.
The extra renewable energy produced for the national electricity market could cut power prices for struggling Queensland households, because less power will be sent to southern states.
Under the current scheme, the State Government-owned CS Energy and Stanwell Energy are the beneficiaries of the load being shifted south, while the Queensland consumer loses.
However, the plan will not fix the ongoing problem of reliable energy for north Queensland, which is likely to still receive a new power station.
Mr Turnbull, who struck an agreement yesterday with gas companies to supply more gas for the domestic market to help stop energy bills increasing, has tasked the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to finish a feasibility study by the end of the year on the Snowy Mountains Scheme expansion and examine several sites at the precinct.
Large-scale pumped hydro-electric energy storage will be supported by new tunnels and power stations, connected to existing storages.
But the work will be done underground to ensure the plan is not stalled by green lawfare activists.
However, the expanded scheme will need coal-fired generation to pump water up at night when it is cheaper.
The plan will be expensive and produce carbon emissions but it will be better than any battery solution, The Courier-Mail understands.
While batteries need to be thrown away after eight years, the original Snowy Mountains scheme, announced by then prime minister Ben Chifley in 1949, has been operational since 1974.
The original Snowy Mountains Scheme cost $820 million (about $6.4 billion in today’s dollars) and took 25 years to build, but it is understood the upgrade would cost at least $2 billion and would be constructed within four years.
“The Turnbull Government will start work on (this) electricity game-changer, the plan for the Snowy Mountains Scheme 2.0,’’ Mr Turnbull said. “This plan will increase the generation of the Snowy Hydro Scheme by 50 per cent, adding 2000 megawatts of renewable energy to the national electricity market, enough to power 500,000 homes.”
In a slap to South Australia’s energy woes, Mr Turnbull said that in one hour it could produce 20 times the 100Mw/h expected from the battery proposed by the SA Government, but would deliver it constantly for almost a week (or 350,000 megawatt hours over seven days).
“The unprecedented expansion will help make renewables reliable, filling in holes caused by intermittent supply and generator outages,” he said.
“It will enable energy efficiency and help stabilise electricity supply into the future. This will ultimately mean cheaper power prices and more money in the pockets of Australians.
“We are making energy storage infrastructure a critical priority to ensure better integration of wind and solar into the energy market and more efficient use of conventional power. Every Australian should be confident that they can turn the lights on when they need them.”
The original Snowy Mountains Scheme operated with seven power stations, 16 major dams, 145km of interconnected tunnels and 80km of aqueducts.
Originally published as PM says expansion of Snowy Mountains Scheme an ‘electricity game-changer’