The project team celebrated a major power station construction milestone with the breakthrough blast of the machine hall cavern crown. The final three metres of rock were drilled and charged with explosives according to a precise blast plan. After the tunnels are cleared, the shotfirer arms the electronic blasting system which uses a unique electrical pulse to initiate firing of the explosives.

The breakthrough of the final three metres of the power station’s 223-metre long transformer hall cavern crown. Drill and blast methods are used to profile the curved cavern crowns (or ceilings) and break up the rock, which is mucked out and followed by surface scaling to remove any remaining loose rock. The exposed solid rock face is then supported with rock bolts and shotcrete.

Power station equipment manufacturing for Snowy 2.0 is in full swing. The bespoke components are being fabricated with precision and skill at one of our subcontractor Voith Hydro’s global production facilities in Shanghai, China. The six pumped hydro units will generate up to 2,200 megawatts of power for Australia’s electricity grid.

After completing the 2.8km main access tunnel (MAT) in 2022, TBM Lady Eileen Hudson started on her second tunnel excavation for Snowy 2.0 – the 6km tailrace tunnel, which will connect Talbingo Reservoir to the underground power station complex. The Lady Eileen was disassembled at the MAT and reassembled at the Talbingo adit with new components including a cutterhead, shields and main drive.

Work began in June 2023 to excavate the cavern complex 800m underground where Snowy 2.0’s power station will be located. The two main caverns being excavated to house the machine hall and the transformer hall are huge – about 1.5 times the length of Melbourne Cricket Ground and the equivalent of a 20-storey building in height.

A proposal to expand the Snowy Scheme and deliver 2,200MW of generation and 350,000MW/h of large-scale storage was announced in early 2017.

The iconic Snowy Scheme’s role as the battery of the National Electricity Market (NEM) would be ‘supercharged’ as part of plans to expand its pumped-hydro storage capability.

It would provide a clean-energy solution to the critical security and supply issues in the NEM and recycle water utilised for electricity generation. In this way it would give continuous supply when at times of peak demand, with no impact on the Scheme’s water release obligations.

A feasibility study was commissioned to explore the physical, technical and environmental requirements for expansion of pumped-hydro at sites across the Scheme. The study also looked at the potential output of new facilities and the costs associated with the project. 

An extensive core hole drilling program was carried out to collect data on rock types across the Snowy 2.0 alignment. This information was collated to inform the project’s feasibility study.

The rock samples – or cores – provided geologists with a solid understanding of the geological and hydrogeological conditions. The work also identified physical properties of the existing rock.

This geotechnical program is the key to developing a final, buildable design for the Snowy 2.0 underground tunnels and power station. 

The Snowy 2.0 Feasibility Study confirmed the project is technically and financially feasible.

The feasibility study also showed the key benefits of Snowy 2.0:
• System security and reliability – Snowy 2.0’s on-demand energy generation can respond within minutes to changing market needs
• Lower energy prices – wholesale energy costs will be lower with Snowy 2.0 in the market
• Scale and central location – power from Snowy 2.0 will reach all National Electricity Market (NEM) users, including the major load centres of Sydney and Melbourne
• Supporting renewables – Snowy 2.0 will enable a low emissions future at least cost by underpinning the stability of the NEM as more intermittent renewables enter the market

The Snowy Hydro Board approved a Final Investment Decision to proceed with Snowy 2.0.

Following almost two years of due diligence on every aspect of the project, the Board is confident Snowy 2.0 is a strong investment for Snowy Hydro.

The comprehensive appraisal included detailed financial analysis and ongoing geotechnical drilling,

Approval for Snowy 2.0 Exploratory Works was granted by the NSW Government in February 2019.

The approval followed a rigorous planning and environmental planning assessment process.

Snowy Hydro committed to providing $10.5 million in offsets for any impacts associated with the Exploratory Works.

Activities approved as part of Exploratory Works included building new site access roads and upgrading other roads and tracks.

It also covered excavation of an exploratory tunnel down to the site of the underground power station cavern, establishment of a site compound and other site works.  

Under early works contractor Leed Engineering, access road upgrades and other site preparation activities began at Lobs Hole.

Future Generation Joint Venture, a partnership between Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo), Clough and Lane, was appointed by Snowy Hydro to build Snowy 2.0.

Future Generation is leading the civil works and subcontractor Voith Hydro will deliver the latest hydro-generation technology in the new underground power station.