September 2023
Construction of the four tanks at Hunter Power Project are maintaining progress against their target completion dates. A milestone will be reached with the hydro-test of the Service Water Tank, scheduled for the first week in December.
Three of these tanks are constructed with carbon steel: one for service water and the other two for the back-up Diesel fuel. The fourth tank is being constructed of stainless steel and will store demineralised water that is essential for the energy generation process.
Once finished, these tanks will have a capacity between 2.2 and 2.5 million litres each – approximately the same capacity as an Olympic pool.
August 2023
Two 415-tonne gas fired turbines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are being reassembled on site from the ground up – the largest in Australia to be put together this way.
This task has commenced under domes to protect the turbines from contamination. Each turbine has approximately one million assembly parts to be reassembled under these domes. The reassembly requires a very high degree of precision and a fine tolerance of 0.02 millimetres, which is the smallest dimension that the human eye can resolve.
April 2024
Preliminary alignment of the turbine / generator for both GT1 and GT2 was completed in April 2024. The HPP mechanical team made fine adjustments to the hundredth millimetre, ensuring the generator shaft was perfectly aligned with the turbine shaft. The piping team will step in next, to connect the piping into the turbine and generator casing flanges at their final positions.
February 2024
Work on the combustor installations was completed at the end of February 2024. 20 individual dual-fuel (diesel and gas) combustors were installed into both turbines, with each combustor weighing approximately 440kg each. Each one of these combustors are highly important for the functioning of the units. Fuel from the combustor is ignited and mixed with compressed air in the combustion chamber. The air then expands, pushing into the turbine blades, and subsequently chemical energy turns the shaft to generate mechanical energy. This mechanical energy is then converted into electrical energy by the generator.
July 2023
Two 313-tonne generators were successfully installed.
The Hunter Power Project team expertly performed all the required pre-checks and inspections before using a 600-tonne lift-and-lock jacking system to perfectly centre and lift the units. The units were first lifted 5-metres high and then moved 12-metres horizontally, before being lowered into position.
March 2024
March 2024 marked another key milestone for HPP – the successful completion of the generator and turbine assembly for both units. After the assembly, a simple check was required – the team turned the turbine shaft and confirmed the successful assembly after the turbine ran smoothly, quietly and all functioned as expected.
19 May 2021
Snowy Hydro Managing Director and CEO Paul Broad and Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor MP announce the Hunter Power Project on site at Kurri Kurri.
17 October 2021
The Hunter Power Project is based on a strong business case and will have a double-digit internal rate of return in the order 12.3%. It will build on Snowy’s record of sound and strategic investments.
November 2022
Almost 200 20-metre deep continuous flight auger piles that will hold the foundations for the turbines and infrastructure are installed at site.
February 2022
Earthworks for the gas-fired power station are well underway. Approximately 125,000 cubic metres of dirt and aggregates were moved on site to help build the construction pad. Approximately 6,750 cubic metres of dirt were excavated for the foundations for the gas turbine and generator.
February 2023
The Hunter Power Project completed the first concrete pour that will form the foundation of the first Gas Turbine, known as GT1.
March 2023
The concrete pour for the foundation of GT2 was completed over an 18 hour period.
