Pump it up: former PM calls for action on hydropower
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson |
Australia will fall short of its energy and environmental targets if it fails to support more hydroelectricity projects, a former leader has warned.
The International Hydropower Association, led by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, issued the warning on Tuesday with the release of six recommendations to back the industry, which he said deserved bipartisan support.
The announcement comes after the Australian Energy Market Operator called for significant investments in long-duration energy storage.
The association’s report, called An Energy Secure Australia, found the nation needed to boost investments in large-capacity storage to support the transition to renewable power.
Pumped hydropower projects, like those in Wivenhoe in Queensland and Shoalhaven in NSW, can store significant amounts of renewable energy for hours at a time, releasing it to the grid when required.
The market operator, in its draft 2026 Integrated System Plan, forecasts Australia will need 27 gigawatts of storage by 2030, but the report found developments were not on track to meet the goal.
“Without urgent targeted action to fix planning frameworks, market settings, approvals and investment risk, policy settings, Australia will fall short, risking higher prices, reduced reliability and delayed decarbonisation,” the report said.
Changes to support investments in pumped hydro were essential, Mr Turnbull said, and deserved bipartisan state and federal support.
“If we want a successful clean energy transition and affordable electricity for Australians, we’re going to need more pumped storage,” he said.
“Pumped storage is the only proven technology that can store energy at the massive scale our grid requires.”
The report issued six recommendations to grow the industry, including a faster and more transparent approvals process, funding for early stage project developments, and state targets for long-duration storage.
Added support from federal and state governments could accelerate developments, Mr Turnbull said, support other renewable energy projects and encourage private investments.
“We have strong projects ready to go but they need the right policy settings and market signals to get built,” he said.
“The technology works, the economics work, what we need now is decision action.”
Australia’s largest pumped hydropower project, Snowy 2.0 in NSW, is expected to deliver power by the end of 2028, although its $12 billion cost is under review amid concerns it could blow out for a second time.
The Tasmanian Tarraleah hydropower development also took another step forward on Tuesday, with Hydro Tasmania seeking industry proposals to build and equip the project.
AAP
