Latest market news

Key Australian hydro project hit by cost rise, delay

  • Märkte: Electricity, Emissions
  • 23.10.26

Australia's long delayed and over-budget 2.2GW Snowy 2.0 pumped hydropower project is expected to start one year later than previously estimated and cost up to A$25bn ($17.5bn), doubling from just three years ago, according to an update published today.

The target completion date for the flagship project in New South Wales (NSW) is now late 2029, a year later than the previous December 2028 estimate announced in August 2023, while the updated target cost to complete Snowy 2.0 is A$22.2bn, with an allowance for a cost scenario of A$25bn, state-owned utility Snowy Hydro said on 23 October.

Estimated costs to build the project had already doubled to A$12bn in 2023 from A$5.9bn previously. Construction started in 2019, with commissioning originally expected for 2025.

The latest update comes after a cost reassessment by the principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV), which identified construction complexities and global cost escalation for equipment, services and labour as some of the main reasons for the "disappointing" increased project cost, Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes said.

The project includes a new pumped hydroelectric power station 800m underground and 27km of tunnels linking the Tantangara and Talbingo reservoirs. It will expand the existing 4.1GW Snowy Mountains hydropower scheme across the eastern states of NSW and Victoria.

"Completing Snowy 2.0 remains the responsible course. With tunnelling now 65pc complete, compared with 19pc at cost reset in 2023, abandoning the project would undermine grid reliability, scrap 5,000 jobs and lead to higher bills," climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen said today.

The project started in 2017 under the Coalition government led by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.


Teilen

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more