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Government commits $20 million to Sunshine Coast hydro plant plan
By Tony Moore
The Queensland government will spend two years and $20 million preparing a business case for a pumped hydroelectricity plant on the Sunshine Coast.
The pumped hydro plant would be Queensland’s largest and could provide electricity to 1.5 million homes by the middle of this decade.
Borumba Dam near Gympie, with its 43-metre high dam wall, is being considered as a potential pumped hydro site, like Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.
It would be built on the Mary River at Lake Borumba, near Gympie, close to where the failed Traveston Dam project was proposed between 2006 and 2009.
Pumped hydro plants generate energy by allowing water to fall from one dam to a lower dam through a turbine. The water is pumped back to the higher reservoir for the process to be repeated.
The business case for the plant will be prepared by Powerlink and go to Queensland cabinet by the middle of 2023.
The announcement was made on Tuesday at a Brisbane Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch by Energy and Renewables Minister Mick de Brenni.
The Queensland government planned to produce 50 per cent of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2030.
About 20 per cent of the state’s electricity was produced from renewable energy by January 2021, according to the government.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Lake Borumba was being prioritised because of its existing dam infrastructure, land access and location within the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone.
Successive Queensland governments have investigated Lake Borumba as a site for a pumped hydro plant since 1985, the year the Queensland Electricity Commission ruled the site as one of the best pumped hydro locations available in Australia.
Mr de Brenni said Powerlink was able to expand the electrical generation capacity of Wivenhoe Dam’s small pumped hydroelectricity plant last month, when the Callide power station explosion cut power to 447,000 Queenslanders.
Borumba Dam near Gympie.Credit: Queensland Government
“The benefits of having pumped hydro as part of our diversified energy mix was proven last month when Callide Power Station went offline,” Mr de Brenni said.
“We were able to ramp up the Wivenhoe Hydroelectric Station to provide critical generation support and stabilise the network,” he said.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said the business case would examine the technical requirements needed for a pumped hydro plant.
“This work will include engineering and design, hydrological modelling, geological testing, an assessment of environmental impacts and community consultation,” Mr Dick said.
Powerlink will begin the detailed business case by expanding discussions with Seqwater and the Department of Environment and Science.
The proposal was welcomed by the Australian Conservation Foundation.
“Big renewable storage projects like this can speed the transition away from coal and gas and help make Queensland a renewable energy superpower,” ACF chief executive officer Kelly O’Shanassy said.
Ms O’Shanassy said Queensland needed to emphasis renewable energy projects if it wanted to meet its 50 per cent renewable energy goal.
“Fortunately, renewable energy helped restore Queensland’s power following the Callide blackout, which was the state’s worst power outage in decades,” she said.