News

MAJOR MILESTONE REACHED FOR HUNTER POWER PROJECT

19/06/2023

The second of two generator stators that will power Snowy Hydro’s Hunter Power Project has arrived onsite at Kurri Kurri after its journey from the Port of Newcastle late last night.

The 150-metre-long convoy containing the 314-tonne generator stator left the Port of Newcastle at 9pm on Saturday evening and arrived at the Kurri Kurri site at 2am on Sunday, where it was unloaded and positioned for installation.

The convoy included six prime movers, four police escort vehicles and four pilot vehicles.

The first generator was transported two weeks ago and travelled the same route to Kurri Kurri from the Mayfield berth, via Industrial Drive, Maitland Road, Newcastle Inner City Bypass and the Hunter Expressway.

The two generator stators were prepared for transportation at the port over a period of two days after arriving from Japan late last year and earlier this year. When installed, the generators will spin from the power of the two open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), which in turn will generate the 660 megawatts of electricity the Hunter Power Project is delivering for the National Electricity Market.

Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said this project milestone was the result of months of meticulous planning from the Hunter Power Project team.

“Moving these two large components of the power station to our construction site required many months of work and liaison with the Port of Newcastle, the team at Mitsubishi in Japan, and local engineered transportation company Rex Andrews.

“Investment in dispatchable generators like the Hunter Power Project is vitally important as Australia transitions to renewable energy, which will ultimately benefit the environment and future generations,” Mr Barnes said.

The Hunter Power Project is expected to be operational by 2024.

News

SNOWY 2.0 PROJECT UPDATE – MAY 2023

30/05/2023

May was a milestone month for the Snowy 2.0 team with the completion of the emergency, cable and ventilation tunnel, or ECVT – another vital step in the construction of Snowy Hydro’s new pumped-hydro expansion megaproject.

Snowy 2.0 senior project manager Rodd Brinkmann explains the next stage of the project from his base at Lobs Hole, as preparation for excavation for the underground power station cavern gets underway.

The ECVT is a 2.93 kilometre tunnel that runs adjacent to the main access tunnel and provides alternate access to the site of the underground power station. Tunnel boring machine (TBM) Kirsten recently completed excavation of the ECVT and will soon start tunnelling the inclined pressure shaft. This very steep shaft links to the headrace tunnel from Tantangara Reservoir.

TBM Kirsten will need to undergo modifications to excavate the 25-degree incline, including installation of a screw conveyor to extract excavated rock from the cutterhead to a sandwich conveyor system. With such a steep incline, construction of the 1.45km shaft with its concrete segment-lined tunnel, will be a world first.

In the main access tunnel, or MAT, construction of cross passages and construction access tunnels is well underway with 850 metres of drill and blast tunnel excavation completed. Of the five cross passages linking the MAT and the ECVT, two are fully excavated and waiting on breakthrough into the ECVT. Key construction tunnels are also being excavated to provide access to the machine hall, transformer hall and the top of the tailrace surge shaft.

Workers have reached the main cavern areas from both ends and will soon commence excavation and support of the cavern crowns or ceilings of the power station halls. The excavation sequence of the cavern crowns is critical, as the in situ rock mass will relax and move inwards as the excavated void increases. These movements will be closely monitored during the process. Geotechnical drilling and plate load tests will measure and confirm the characteristics of the rock geology around the power station.

Dynamic 3D models of the power station caverns are also being used. 3D models are created using digital engineering to transform 2D design drawings and are displayed in the state-of-the-art immersive theatre at Snowy Hydro’s Discovery Centre in Cooma, where Snowy 2.0 engineers can collaborate with power station design experts from around the world. Once construction is complete, the detailed 3D models will be a valuable tool for asset maintenance.

With so much activity in the tunnels, the current Snowy 2.0 underground workforce will increase by another 200 people in the coming months.

News

SNOWY 2.0 PROJECT UPDATE – APRIL 2023

09/05/2023

In our April update of the Snowy 2.0 pumped-hydro project, Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes pays tribute to Alan Machon, who tragically died in a road accident. Alan was a member of the Future Generation team working to deliver Snowy 2.0.

Out onsite, Snowy 2.0 Integration Manager, Paul Smith, joins us from the recently completed Ravine Road, we meet the captain of the Lobs Hole Emergency Response Team and we stop by the Talbingo adit to check on progress of TBM Lady Eileen Hudson’s reassembly in readiness for her second major tunnelling task.

The construction of Ravine Road was one of the first projects undertaken for Snowy 2.0. Originally little more than a dirt track, the main access into the Lobs Hole site has been transformed to provide safe all-weather access for project trucks and light vehicles.

The steep, winding 15-kilometre road is now two lanes wide and in March 2023 it was fully sealed with line marking, snow poles and reflective markers installed to help guide road users in low visibility conditions. With an 850-metre elevation difference from top to bottom, the upper section of Ravine Road is above the snow line.

Areas disturbed during construction are being reinstated and the rehabilitation process is underway. When the Snowy 2.0 project is complete, the general public will be able to use Ravine Road to access a popular camping area once restricted to 4WD vehicles.

At the Talbingo adit, tunnel boring machine Lady Eileen Hudson is being reassembled in preparation for excavation of the tailrace tunnel. New components including the cutterhead and tailskin will soon be lifted into the TBM cradle to be attached to the shields and main drive. After completing the excavation of the main access tunnel, the TBM gantries were removed using self-propelled mobile transporters and will be attached to the machine so it can begin excavating the six-kilometre tunnel. The vertical conveyor belt stacker has been assembled, construction of the water treatment plant is progressing and the grout plant will soon be commissioned.

Snowy 2.0 emergency response teams, or ERTs, regularly conduct training to keep the onsite workforce safe and to prepare for possible emergencies such as vehicle rescues and bushfires.

Future Generation’s Lobs Hole ERT captain, Drew Butters, is a Snowy Mountains local who has worked on the project for three years. He has had a life-long association with emergency response and fire fighting in the Rural Fire Service and is currently the Adaminaby RFS captain.

ERTs are trained to deal with bushfires, general firefighting, emergency response and rescue. Emergency Response Teams have a small crew with experienced full-time members, plus a number of volunteers at each work site.

News

SNOWY 2.0 – PROJECT UPDATE

03/05/2023

Snowy Hydro’s management team is working towards resetting the delivery timeline and budget for the Snowy 2.0 project with its principal contractor, Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV), as part of an ongoing project review.

The reset will ensure this critically important clean energy infrastructure project is placed on a robust and sustainable footing for FGJV to progress the schedule in a realistic and productive manner.

While significant progress has been achieved by FGJV on Snowy 2.0, there are delays to Snowy 2.0’s contracted schedule and likely cost impacts beyond the contingency allowed, which remain under review by Snowy Hydro.

There are four broad categories of factors contributing to schedule delays and likely cost increases:

the mobilisation and resourcing implications of the COVID-19 pandemic;
the effect of global supply chain disruption and inflation impacting the cost and availability of a skilled workforce, materials, and shipping;
a number of design elements requiring more time to complete due to their technically complex nature, with the final design now being more expensive to construct; and
the impact of variable site and geological conditions, with the most impactful being the soft ground encountered that is delaying tunnel boring machine (TBM) Florence’s progress at Tantangara.

Snowy Hydro anticipates that the timeline for full commercial operation is delayed by a further 12-24 months from the current publicly released dates:

Milestone	Earliest	Latest
First Power	June 2027 – December 2027	June 2028 – December 2028
Commercial operation of all units	December 2028	December 2029

Snowy Hydro expects more detail on the budget implications of the project reset around July 2023, and this will be clearly communicated with key project stakeholders.

Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said:

“Since joining Snowy Hydro earlier this year I have focused on ensuring our major projects are placed on a realistic and sustainable footing, while maintaining construction progress.

“This project is critically important to the transition of Australia’s electricity grid and it’s crucial that we are working to a safe, efficient and realistically achievable timeframe to enable orderly planning for all our stakeholders. I am committed to being transparent about our progress and how we are proactively managing the inevitable issues and challenges that arise in a complex project like this.

“While many other major infrastructure projects have been impacted by the same challenges, Snowy 2.0 continues to make positive progress.

“Snowy 2.0 is providing significant employment and economic benefits both regionally and domestically. There are currently over 2,400 people employed on the project and thousands more jobs generated indirectly through supply chains and support services.

“TBM Kirsten has tunnelled 2.9 km to reach the underground power station cavern complex and we now have access to this site from both ends. We shortly expect to commence the 6km tailrace tunnel that will feed into Talbingo Reservoir and the excavation of intakes at Talbingo and Tantangara are proceeding very well.”

News

SNOWY HYDRO YEAR 9 CAREERS OPEN DAY

27/03/2023

At Snowy Hydro we understand the importance of developing students for the careers of the future, so we are excited to be hosting our inaugural Year 9 Careers Open Day on Thursday 30 March 2023.

The initiative, which is aimed at schools in the Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys and Towong local government areas, continues our strong focus on educational programs that spark an interest in science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) for local young people.

Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said the Year 9 Careers Open Day would allow students to go behind the scenes at the Snowy head office in Cooma to explore the diversity of STEM careers.

“More than 100 students will hear from some of our engineers, climate scientists and technology experts and enjoy interesting, hands-on activities,” Dennis said.

“They’ll learn about Snowy Hydro’s operations and the amazing Snowy Scheme, participate in quality learning experiences, discuss STEM-related career pathways and learn how different engineering roles use maths on a daily basis.

“By showcasing what we do here at Snowy and what opportunities there are for local kids with an interest in STEM, we hope to inspire a future generation of engineers, scientists and technical specialists.

“The Year 9 Careers Open Day will also help students with their subject selections for year 10 and beyond.”

Students will begin their day at Snowy Hydro with a welcome from senior leaders. They’ll experience the fantastic Discovery Centre immersive theatre with a Snowy Scheme virtual flyover, visit the generation operations control room and learn about work experience, traineeships and apprenticeships and tertiary pathways at Snowy.

And that’s just the start!

Snowy Hydro is proud to be launching the Year 9 Careers Open Day in 2023 and establishing it as a fixture on the local schools’ calendar for years to come.

News

ADAMINABY TRUCK PARKING PROJECT

21/12/2022

Snowy Hydro is proud to be supporting a Snowy Monaro Regional Council project providing new truck parking bays in Adaminaby.

Six 3-metre wide and 30-metre long sealed parking bays will be built on the Snowy Mountains Highway in Adaminaby, allowing heavy vehicles to safely stop for logbook, food and drink breaks.

Acting Snowy Hydro CEO Roger Whitby said a $188,000 contribution from Snowy Hydro would assist council in delivering an important improvement for the town.

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Snowy Monaro Regional Council on the truck parking bays project,” Mr Whitby said.

“There is a lack of heavy vehicle parking areas between Cooma and Tumut, along with increased numbers of heavy vehicles passing through Adaminaby with the Snowy 2.0 project. So this is an opportunity to help with a really good legacy initiative that will benefit the town’s economy,” Mr Whitby said.

“Truck drivers taking a break in Adaminaby on their trips through the Snowy Mountains will have fit-for-purpose, sealed and lit bays to park their vehicles in.

“This improves safety for them and other road users, and means heavy vehicles will no longer need to park in residential areas of the town.”

The truck parking project, which is being conducted in consultation with Transport for NSW, will get underway early in 2023.

A temporary repair has been carried out to the area in front of the Big Trout statue in Adaminaby for long vehicle parking in the short-term.

In addition to the truck parking initiative, a separate council project will provide permanent parking facilities in Adaminaby that accommodate long vehicle parking for cars towing boats and caravans, along with recreational vehicles.

The two projects are scheduled for completion by April 2024, weather conditions permitting.

The Adaminaby parking projects are proudly funded by the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) Fund, which is part of the $4.5 billion bushfire support program co-funded by the Australian and NSW governments for bushfire recovery, response and preparedness in NSW.

News

LAKE JINDABYNE RELEASES – 16 December 2022

16/12/2022

High inflows to the Snowy Scheme, including the Jindabyne catchment, have been experienced for more than 12 months and are continuing due to the late snow falls and wetter than usual weather conditions.

Lake levels are approaching 100% and continue to rise, so Snowy Hydro has consulted with NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE Water) to make pre-releases into the Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam from 1am Saturday 17 December 2022.

Pre-releases will be greater than the environmental releases notified on Snowy Hydro’s website and may change at short notice in response to the weather conditions. Releases are expected to remain below 2,000 megalitres per day, but could increase in response to further weather events.

If Lake Jindabyne reaches 100%, it will trigger the operation of the spillway gates. Dam safety is paramount, and the spillway gates will automatically release water whenever the storage reaches or exceeds 100%.

For the community the most important message is to stay safe and well informed. The public can stay updated about flood alerts here:

For more information about releases into the Snowy River visit

https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/generation/live-data/lake-levels/ and

https://dpie.nsw.gov.au/water/home

Snowy Hydro will continue to keep the community informed about management of water in Lake Jindabyne through its website and social media channels.

News

SNOWY HYDRO STATEMENT ON CLOUGH – UPDATED 16 December 2022

16/12/2022

Snowy Hydro welcomes the announcement by Webuild that it has reached an agreement with Clough Limited administrators to acquire Clough’s share of the Snowy 2.0 project contract and its related workforce.

Our priority remains ensuring the wellbeing and continuity of Clough’s workers on the project and the smooth progress of Snowy 2.0 construction.

We will continue to work closely with Webuild and the administrators throughout the acquisition process.

News

SNOWY 2.0 HEADRACE TUNNEL UPDATE

16/12/2022

Snowy 2.0 teams are monitoring a surface depression that has emerged above the headrace tunnel at Tantangara.

The integrity of the tunnel has not been compromised, and tunnelling is continuing while work to remediate the surface depression above tunnel boring machine (TBM) Florence is carried out. There is a safety exclusion zone around the surface depression.

Ensuring the safety of the Snowy 2.0 workforce and members of the public is the priority for Snowy Hydro and principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture.

The Snowy 2.0 teams are conducting geophysical investigations of the area and continuing grouting operations and probing from the TBM.

As previously indicated, the ground conditions encountered by the TBMs on Snowy 2.0 have been highly variable, ranging from very loose, sandy ground to extremely hard rock in fluctuating groundwater conditions.

TBM Florence is transitioning from soft material into harder rock conditions.

News

STUDENTS FLOCK TO COUNTRY UNIVERSITIES CENTRES

30/11/2022

New data from the 2021 census has revealed that Country Universities Centres (CUCs) are leading the way in university student growth across regional NSW.

Over the past five years, university student numbers in NSW towns with CUCs grew by 24.7% compared with an average 5.4% for all non-metropolitan areas.

Snowy Hydro co-founded the very first CUC in Cooma in 2013 and remains an integral supporter of the higher education centre by jointly funding it together with Snowy Monaro Regional Council.

The CUC initiative enables regional and rural university students to study close to home in a campus-like environment with learning facilities, technology including access to computers, wifi, printers, video conferencing and support staff.

Snowy Hydro Acting CEO Roger Whitby said the long-running Cooma CUC partnership continues to be highly successful.

“CUCs are helping to stop the brain drain – they allow regional students to stay in their communities, have access to tertiary education in a supportive environment and ultimately provide local employers, including Snowy Hydro, with qualified workers,” Mr Whitby said.

“Typically there is a high drop-out rate with people studying online courses because they can feel isolated, so the CUC offers real benefits.”

Cooma has seen a university student increase of 64% over the last two census periods (2011-2021), compared with an average 17.5% for non-metro NSW.

Following the success of the Cooma CUC pilot, a further five centres opened in Broken Hill, Goulburn, Grafton, Griffith/Leeton and Narrabri/Moree in 2018-19.

The network of centres has since grown to 20 regional communities across NSW, Queensland and Victoria with the additional support of the NSW Government and the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment through the Regional University Centres program.

Find out more about Snowy Hydro’s partnership with Country Universities Centre: https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/ourpartners/country-universities-centre/

Students studying at university by locality

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data

CUC locations and year of opening	Increase 2011-2021	Increase 2016-2021
Cooma (2013)	* 64.1%
Broken Hill (2018)		22.8%
Goulburn (2018)		18.4%
Grafton (2019)		32.3%
Griffith and Leeton (2019)		33.8%
Narrabri and Moree (2019)		16.0%
CUC centre average increase		24.7%
NSW university students – non-metro	17.5%	5.4%

*Only the Cooma CUC was operating during the 2016 Census.

News

IN THE SWIM AT TALBINGO RESERVOIR

16/11/2022

Snowy Hydro’s Talbingo Reservoir and its new swimming, picnic and boating facilities will be a focal point for the local community and visitors over summer.

Snowy’s acting CEO Roger Whitby, the Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr and Snowy Valleys Council Mayor Ian Chaffey recently had the opportunity to view the upgraded recreation area as part of the Tumut 3 Power Station 50th birthday celebrations.

The facilities include a safe swimming beach with improved pedestrian access and car parking, a large picnic shelter, grassed areas, a widened two-lane boat ramp and new mooring pontoon.

Snowy Hydro contributed $560,000 to the recreation area project, with the NSW Government investing $850,000. Snowy Valleys Council managed construction of the project, which was completed in February this year.

Mr Whitby said Snowy Hydro always proudly supports the local communities it lives and operates in.

“We have been extremely pleased to contribute to this recreation improvement project in Talbingo, a town constructed as part of the mighty Snowy Scheme and just down the road from Tumut 3 Power Station.

“We think the community and the many visitors who come to the area for fishing, water skiing and swimming will really enjoy the upgraded amenities.

“The new facilities allow boats to continue using Talbingo Reservoir while swimmers have a safe and friendly spot to keep cool.”

News

SNOWY HYDRO JOINS WITH COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE 50th BIRTHDAY FOR TUMUT 3 POWER STATION

05/11/2022

Large crowds have turned out for a community open day and 50th birthday celebrations for the largest of the mighty Snowy Scheme’s power stations, Tumut 3, at Talbingo.

With the iconic white penstocks as backdrop, local community members and visitors today joined Snowy Hydro in acknowledging the remarkable role the Tumut 3 Power Station has played providing critical energy supply and water services to eastern Australia since 1972.

Snowy Hydro acting CEO Roger Whitby said Tumut 3 was the first and biggest pumped-hydro facility in Australia.

“The Snowy Scheme’s fast start, reliable clean energy generation keeps the lights on – literally – for millions of people and our pumped-hydro capability here at T3 is integral to this,” Mr Whitby said. “We generate at peak periods or when there is a shortfall of other energy sources, and pump when demand and wholesale energy prices are low, reusing and recycling the water.

“Tumut 3 Power Station has been operating reliably and safely for 50 years, with decades more service to come.

“The longevity of this asset is testament to its quality design, engineering, construction and maintenance. I would like to thank and express my appreciation to those who have played a part in Tumut 3’s history, especially those former workers who have attended the event today.”

Mr Whitby, along with the Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr and Snowy Valleys Council Mayor Ian Chaffey, led the official proceedings at the community open day.

Visitors to the event enjoyed a range of activities including power station tours, bus tours of the reservoir and penstocks, live music, food vendors, and activities for the kids from Snowy Hydro’s Next Generation Education Hub and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Tumut 3 Power Station facts

T3 is the largest power station in the Snowy Scheme and the first pumped-hydro facility in Australia.
The station has a total generating capacity of 1,800MW. That is enough electricity to power more than half a million homes.
Three of the six units are capable of both generating and pumping, meaning that we can recycle water between Jounama Pondage and Talbingo Reservoir.
Each of the penstocks are 488m long and 5.6m in diameter.
They are full all of the time, holding over 12,000 tonnes of water.
If all three pumps are running, water from Jounama Pondage is pumped at a rate of 297 cubic metres per second.
Talbingo Dam was completed in 1970 – the dam height is 161 metres.
Talbingo Reservoir’s gross capacity is 921,400,000m3, which is almost twice the size of Sydney Harbour.