Queensland Hydro to build world’s biggest pumped hydro scheme in the Pioneer Valley

The government has pledged to build to world’s biggest pumped hydro scheme near Mackay and the numbers are staggering. Thousands of jobs and 5GW of 24-hour storage. Here’s what we know so far

A mammoth energy storage scheme is set to lift Mackay onto the world stage and transform it into a clean energy powerhouse.

The government pledged this week to build the world’s biggest pumped hydro scheme in the Pioneer Valley 70km west of Mackay and the marquee project underpins a broader $62bn ambition to “green” the Queensland economy.

By 2035, it is expected the new infrastructure will store and dispatch up to half of the state’s energy needs with renewable energy.

Called the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project, it will be bigger than New South Wales’ Snowy Hydro 2.0 and is expected to generate 5GW of power.

The pumped hydro scheme will be located 70km west of Mackay in the Pioneer Valley. Picture: Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the massive project, which she has labelled “the battery of the north”, as part of her State of the State address and the scheme in Mackay will be paired with another pumped hydro project in the southeast.

“I would like you to picture that these combined projects would position Queensland’s hydro storage as a percentage energy use above Europe, China or the US,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said the two projects would support about 4000 construction jobs each year over a decade.

Pumped hydro will serve as the backbone of the government’s planned “SuperGrid”, or what it calls a modern electricity system.

The asset will be state-owned and a new public entity called Queensland Hydro will be created to take the project from ambition to reality.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, speaking at the Queensland State of the State at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 28, 2022. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Pumped hydro uses “electricity from the grid or nearby renewables to pump water from a lower reservoir into an upper reservoir when energy prices are low”, the government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan states.

“When energy is needed, water is released from the upper reservoir into the lower reservoir, generating energy as it passes through a turbine.

“Hydro-electricity can be generated almost immediately and at any time, so power can be fed into the grid when it is needed.”

The plan states analytical studies and community consultation for the Pioneer Valley site will take place between 2024 and 2026.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert said the new project would support thousands of jobs in the community.

“We will be home to a pumped hydro facility with enough capacity to generate electricity for half of Queensland’s energy needs,” she said.

“This builds on other forms of renewable energy investment like supporting the Australian Sugar Milling Council to investigate using bagasse for energy.”

An illustration of how pumped hydro schemes work. Source: Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan

Mackay Conservation Group co-ordinator Peter McCallum has raised concerns about the project and its potential impact on Eungella National Park.

“All of the water in the Pioneer catchment is already fully allocated for farmers, drinking water and environmental flows,” he said.

“There simply is no available unallocated water to operate a pumped hydro scheme under the Pioneer Valley Water Plan.

“One of these stakeholders will have to suffer.

“We are also very concerned about the impacts that any clearing for the project will have on the iconic Eungella National Park which is one of the jewels in the crown for Mackay biodiversity and tourism.”

In her speech, Ms Palaszczuk said the scheme would be subject to rigorous environmental assessments.

“There is a long way to go but today marks the beginning,” she said.

“Both sites will be subject to rigorous environmental assessments and we will work together with local governments and landholders.”