Five pumped hydro projects in New South Wales have been awarded a total of $44.8 million in funding under the New South Wales Pumped Hydro Recoverable Grants Program in a bid to advance the state’s pumped hydro future.
The five projects have a combined capacity of almost 1.75GW.
List of successful grant recipients:
| Project name | Proponent | Capacity (MW) | Duration (hours) | Funding amount | Location (nearest town) |
| Lake Lyell Pumped Hydro Energy Storage | EnergyAustralia Development | 335 | 8 | $11m | Lithgow |
| Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage | Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage | 600 | 12 | $9.64m | Wollomombi |
| Shoalhaven Hydro Expansion | Origin Energy | 235 | 24 | $5.31m | Bowral |
| Central West Pumped Hydro | ATCO Australia Pumped Hydro | 325 | 8 | $9.44m | Yetholme |
| Muswellbrook Pumped Hydro | Muswellbrook Pumped Hydro (AGL Energy and Idemitsu Australia) | 250 | 8 | $9.45m | Muswellbrook |
According to New South Wales Treasurer and Minister for Energy, Matt Kean, the program provides recoverable grants to pumped hydro developers to help cover upfront costs and lower investment barriers for the private sector.
“Funding agreements are already in place with five applicants who have received a total of $44.8 million to support pre-investment activities, establish project feasibility and develop a strategic business case,” Mr Kean said.
“If these pumped hydro projects proceed to construction, they are expected to create more than 2,300 jobs and attract $4.4 billion of private investment, which will help grow the economy and support the regions.
“New South Wales has the most ambitious renewable energy policy in the nation, which is needed to replace aging coal fired power stations and build a clean energy future for NSW.”
Mr Kean said pumped hydro is a key component of the state’s renewable energy plans and will provide clean, reliable power and create infrastructure jobs right across regional New South Wales.
“This is a win for New South Wales as these grants will be repaid to the Government if a project reaches financial close, meaning that these same funds could be used to support even more projects in future,” Mr Kean said.
Pumped hydro works by using surplus renewable energy to pump water up a hill when it is sunny and windy, and releasing the water back down the hill through giant turbines that create electricity when it is still and dark.
In doing this, pumped hydro acts like a giant battery for the electricity system.
New South Wales has a target to build at least 2GW of new long duration storage by 2030, and the government has committed $97.5 million to accelerate pumped hydro projects that could meet that target. This includes funding for private projects as well as funding to undertake site investigations for pumped hydro potential on existing WaterNSW dams.
Among the recipients is EnergyAustralia’s pumped hydro project at Lake Lyell near Lithgow.
EnergyAustralia Trading, Transition and Reputation Executive, Ross Edwards, said the Lake Lyell project would continue Lithgow’s proud history of power generation into the future and repurpose existing infrastructure to support the energy transition.
“This is an exciting next step for the Lake Lyell pumped hydro project and we look forward to undertaking feasibility studies and continuing to work with the community to plan for our energy future,” Mr Edwards said.
