Oven Mountain pumped hydro project cancelled as construction costs soar
Alinta Energy cancelled the $1.8 billion Oven Mountain pumped hydro project. Economic challenges and rising power line costs made it unviable.
A 900-megawatt pumped hydro project will not go ahead in the Armidale Renewable Energy Zone. Alinta Energy said economic and timing challenges made it unviable.
The economic and timing challenges included the cost of a critical transmission line. The project is the second major renewable project to fail in NSW this month.
Origin Energy also cancelled an 870-megawatt wind farm near Walcha. Energy experts say pumped hydro costs have climbed while battery storage costs have fallen.
This makes large hydro projects uneconomical. A pumped hydro facility costs around $5,000-6,000 per kilowatt to build.
A four-hour battery system costs about $1,400, almost four times less. The Oven Mountain site is 60 kilometres south-east of Armidale.
- $1.8 billion
- Project cost
- 900 megawatt
- Capacity
- 60 kilometres south-east of Armidale
- Location
- $5,000-6,000
- Pumped hydro cost per kilowatt
Why it mattersMajor renewable energy projects are becoming unviable. Battery technology improves and costs fall. This forces Australia to rethink how it will store power. The country shifts away from fossil fuels.
AustraliaNSW loses a major energy storage facility and hundreds of construction jobs that were promised to the region, and Australia's transition to renewable energy will rely more heavily on cheaper battery systems than large hydro schemes.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
