Snowy Hydro is a power utility with nine hydro stations in the southern part of Australia. These range from a 1-megawatt mini-hydro through to the Tumut 3, 1,500 megawatt giant in New South Wales. Hydropower stations function like storage batteries in a sense because they use grid electricity to pump the water uphill, and release it as kinetic power through turbines. This electricity from the grid is one of their largest operating costs at 2,800 megawatt hours per year.
Wind and Solar to Power the Snowy Hydro Pumps
Snowy Hydro has announced its intention to cut over from the grid, to wind and solar power by 2020. Therefore this will make its operation almost 100% green as it will no longer be using energy from coal or gas.
Moreover, the company believes their decision will help households cut energy bills. “This agreement will put significant pressure on wholesale electricity prices. And will lead to downward pressure on retail household energy prices too,” their chief executive Paul Broad said. The project will see a total four solar and four wind farms constructed in Australia’s New South Wales and Victoria states.
Considerable Benefits Expected to Flow from This
The eight new green power generators will have a total capacity of 880 megawatts. This will enable them to do far more than simply pump water from lower to upper storage dams in off-peak periods.
Sydney Morning Herald reports there will be sufficient stored energy to provide cheaper power to about half a million homes during peak. This will bring down the cost of their electricity to around $AU70 a megawatt hour from the start of 2020. This is significantly less than previous estimates of $AU98.5 a megawatt hour in New South Wales. And $AU108 per megawatt hour in Victoria.
The 2,800 megawatt hours no longer needed for pumping at Snowy Hydro sites will return valuable energy to the grid. This will help relieve the pressure on energy supply, in the southern parts of Australia currently under strain.
Related
What is pumped-storage hydroelectricity?
Energy Storage in Water – New Horizons
Preview Image: Upper and Lower Tamut Dams
