FAQs

Dispatchable Energy is power supplied into the energy grid that can crank up quickly to fill gaps in supply.

During peak demand times, like heat waves when many households are running their air conditioners, there can be a few days a year when there are gaps in the electricity supply.

Minimum 25 years, likely 35+ years.

The power station will have an output capacity of up to 660 MW, using two turbines of the same size and type.

By comparison, the coal-fired Liddell Power Station, when at full capacity, was 2,000MW, Vales Point is approximately 1,300MW, and Snowy Hydro’s Colongra gas-fired power station is approximately 670MW. 

The largest solar and wind farms in Australia are at the Western Downs and Coopers Gap in Queensland, generate approximately 450MW each.

Approval has been granted for the power station to operate up to 12.5% of the year or 1100 hours. However, the expectation is it will operate for a lesser period of time.

The power station would dispatch electricity into the local Ausgrid transmission lines that are sized at 132kV (kilovolts), which is at the lower end of high voltage transmission.

70TJ (terajoules) will be stored in the pipeline rather than on the power station site. This equates to approximately 10 hours of consumption with the power station operating at maximum output.

Diesel would act as back-up fuel for the power station, so is unlikely to be used often. Diesel would be stored on site in 2 X 2.1 megalitre tanks within concrete bunds.

Snowy Hydro currently sells more power to customers than it generates from its own assets. On average, over 100% of its own power is sold to Red Energy and Lumo customers, and even more is sold to commercial and industrial customers.
Along with purchasing power from renewable asset owners, the Hunter Power Project will make Snowy Hydro more self-sufficient in the future to service customers.

There would be no visible plumes from the stacks as the emissions during operation would be from the combustion of natural gas and diesel fuel.
The exhaust temperatures would be very high, meaning it would not produce a steam plume similar to that seen at coal-fired power stations.
The Proposal would meet NSW Government requirements for air pollutant concentrations in the exhaust gases.

No. The plume would not be odorous.

Emissions monitoring reports will be published each month on the Snowy Hydro website.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) license has strict reporting requirements that the power station must follow.

Incidents must be reported to the EPA, and formal reporting is published monthly on Snowy Hydro’s website.

The power station’s noise levels are strictly controlled and would be within criteria set by the NSW EPA and NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

Whether the power station is heard depends on weather conditions at the time and other noise in the area, such as the motorway. For instance, if a light wind is blowing from the power station to the receiver, it is more likely to be heard. If the wind is blowing away from the receiver, it is less likely to be heard.

Predicted noise levels during construction would be within the EPA set guidelines. The majority of work will be completed during standard work hours; weekdays, Saturday mornings and some evenings (mainly for delivery of over-mass loads).

The predicted noisiest phases of construction are as follows: 

• Earthworks 

• Installing underground services 

• Site surfacing

When out-of-hours work is required, appropriate approvals with the NSW EPA and NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) will be adhered to, we will notify our neighbours ahead of time to provide information on the type of work, expected hours and machinery to be used.

Extensive noise mitigation is part of the power station’s design. It includes measures such as muffling in the stack, noise-insulating in the housing around the gas turbines, attenuation in air filters and equipment such as motorised pumps.

Predictions are done as part of the EIS for the whole area surrounding the power station, and predicted emissions are assessed against EPA criteria for residential, commercial and industrial sites.

Noise testing is done at each receiver during commissioning, and requires approval from the EPA and DPIE.
The station would be required to continue adhering to EPA guidelines during its operation.

Prior to construction, the site required remediation by Hydro Aluminium and the McCloy Group. Remediation is a condition of Snowy Hydro’s ownership in that we can only exercise the purchase of land once the EPA has signed off on the site.

The project will meet NSW Government requirements for air pollutant concentrations in the exhaust gases. These guidelines are based on health criteria, that is, the pollutants in the emissions are at a level that is considered safe for human health.

The EPA manage air quality by measuring quality and emissions, setting standards, and regulating industries.

Standards set by the EPA are based on scientific studies from all over the world and form the basis of standards, known as ‘exposures’, which are designed to be able to protect the most vulnerable in our communities i.e., the very young or older people.

No aquifers are predicted to be impacted.

The NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme is administered by DPIE. The Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) manages the supply of biodiversity credits.
The BCT’s Biodiversity Offsets Program is responsible for securing biodiversity offsets on behalf of development proponents who opt to pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund (BCF) to meet NSW state and Commonwealth offset obligations of their development approval.

Developers with an offset obligation can make a payment to the BCF at a price set by the Biodiversity Offsets Payment Calculator. If developers choose to pay into the BCF, the obligation to procure the biodiversity credits transfers to the BCT. This enables developers to proceed with the development while allowing the BCT to bundle credit obligations and secure strategic offset outcomes.

Biodiversity credits are generated when a landowner commits to protect and enhance the biodiversity values on their land in perpetuity through a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement.
Biodiversity credits represent the expected improvement in biodiversity that will result from the protection and management of the site.
Biodiversity credits may be sold to developers or the BCT to offset the impacts of development occurring elsewhere. The sale of biodiversity credits generates ongoing, permanent funding for the management of the site at which they were generated. The sale of credits may also return a profit for the landowner.

The project’s assessments focussed on direct impacts on flora and fauna threatened species but also considered various indirect impacts. The impact on wildlife that flies into the path of the hot plume will be a very localised impact and occur only while the plant is operating.
Any presence of wildlife roosting or nesting at the station will be picked up and addressed during the daily site inspections of the site.

Proposed traffic and traffic noise mitigation measures may include ride sharing by contractors entering and exiting the site, and requirements for heavy machinery to be transported in off-peak times.

If the power station operates for about 10% of the year it will emit up to 406,259 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
By comparison, in 2018 the Liddell power station emitted approximately 7.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and the Vales Point Power Station about 7 million tonnes.

The Project enables renewable energy sources like solar and wind to operate in the National Electricity Market (NEM) by providing dispatchable power that covers the periods when renewables can’t operate. With respect to thermal power stations (coal, diesel, gas etc), the gas-fired technology proposed has the lowest greenhouse emission intensity in the NEM.

 An assessment of Aboriginal cultural heritage and a significance assessment was undertaken in consultation with local registered Aboriginal parties (RAPs). The assessment included a number of site visits and surveys.

Representatives from the RAPS and archaeologists have been onsite during construction where deep excavation work is required and had the potential to disturb cultural artefacts.  

The construction teams have also undergone training with local Indigenous representatives to identify any Aboriginal objects or artifacts should they be uncovered during deep earthworks.