A massive machine has begun carving its way through the earth of the Snowy Mountains, forming a massive tunnel for one of the world’s largest hydro energy pumping storage systems. The Snowy Hydro 2.0 arrangement is so audacious that legislators may be legally obligated to pose for photo ops wearing two hard hats.
The project will construct massive turbines capable of supplying 2 gigawatts of electricity deep underground. Only two existing Australian renewable energy stations are capable of providing additional capacity.
Snowy Hydro 2.0 will collect enough energy that it will theoretically be able to provide two gigawatts of solar energy to last for days.
Outlining the Snowy Hydro 2.0
By storing excess renewable energy, it improves the economics of solar, hydrothermal, and wind generation and facilitates their assimilation into the grid. Due to its dispatchable power capability, it will enable the shutdown of the coal industry or potentially more due to its increased reliability.
With these fantastic benefits, it’s a shame it appears to be a colossal waste of resources. That is generally given because at the moment it is operational, the cost of using batteries in conjunction with additional solar and wind generation capacity will be lower.
We compare Snowy Hydro 2.0 to large-scale battery storage, both existing and planned. I’ll tell you right now that it does not appear to be a good situation. The smartest thing we can look forward to is that the project will take on the appearance of a cream elephant instead of an entirely white one.
Despite the fact that it appears to be a massive waste of their finances, some assert that without Snowy Hydro 2.0, the Coalition would then basically do nothing for the environment except expressing aspirations and that it is more practical for them to throw their resources on a costly project than to do nothing. That may be true, but the economic and environmental benefits would be greater if the congress spent their resource properly in methods and ways that benefit everyone.
Status of Completion
In spite of its innovative efforts, this version of the Snowy Hydro does not require the construction of new dams. Then again, we have a massive 24km-long tunnel that connects two of our existing reservoirs. This set-up was designed in a way that when water flows from the upper to the lower reservoir, the equipment can then generate electricity and store the energy once they pump the water back up.