News

IN THE SWIM AT TALBINGO RESERVOIR

16/11/2022

Snowy Hydro’s Talbingo Reservoir and its new swimming, picnic and boating facilities will be a focal point for the local community and visitors over summer.

Snowy’s acting CEO Roger Whitby, the Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr and Snowy Valleys Council Mayor Ian Chaffey recently had the opportunity to view the upgraded recreation area as part of the Tumut 3 Power Station 50th birthday celebrations.

The facilities include a safe swimming beach with improved pedestrian access and car parking, a large picnic shelter, grassed areas, a widened two-lane boat ramp and new mooring pontoon.

Snowy Hydro contributed $560,000 to the recreation area project, with the NSW Government investing $850,000. Snowy Valleys Council managed construction of the project, which was completed in February this year.

Mr Whitby said Snowy Hydro always proudly supports the local communities it lives and operates in.

“We have been extremely pleased to contribute to this recreation improvement project in Talbingo, a town constructed as part of the mighty Snowy Scheme and just down the road from Tumut 3 Power Station.

“We think the community and the many visitors who come to the area for fishing, water skiing and swimming will really enjoy the upgraded amenities.

“The new facilities allow boats to continue using Talbingo Reservoir while swimmers have a safe and friendly spot to keep cool.”

News

Sharing Snowy Stories

19/03/2018

As Snowy Hydro embarks on an expansion of the Snowy Scheme a unique digital storybook project is underway to capture the voices and experiences of ten former workers.

Snowy Hydro and Woden Community Service have partnered on the project which sees former workers who are all in their 80s and 90s share their stories of determination, success and resilience with current and future generations.

Paul Broad, Snowy Hydro’s Chief Executive Officer, said that former Snowy Scheme workers overcame significant engineering and construction challenges to build one of the greatest and most complex hydro power systems in the world.

“It took ingenuity, dedication and hard work to build the Snowy Scheme. Our former workers are a critical part of our company’s history and strength, and capturing their stories is very important.

“We often reflect on and marvel at the achievements of the original Snowy pioneers. Today, as we’re designing and planning the Snowy 2.0 project we’re grateful to have the expert records and technical data from the workers who came before us”, Mr Broad said.

Woden Community Service in collaboration with PhotoAccess and Gen S Stories have the privilege of working with the former workers and bringing their stories to life.

Chris Redmond, CEO of Woden Community Service, said the idea for this project grew from a senior’s social group for ex-Snowy workers, set up by Woden Community Service in August 2016.

“The group is led by Sandy Van Der Toorn, our Seniors Social Group Coordinator. Sandy’s father worked on the Snowy Scheme and she has many fond memories of growing up there.

“We’re also very lucky to have the expertise of Jenni Savigny from Gen S Stories on this project. She enables people of all ages to use the medium of digital storytelling to share their story and assists them to tell it in their own voice (literally). We look forward to working with Snowy Hydro to make this project a success”, Mr Redmond said.

Snowy Hydro has provided $25,000 to fund the project which is due to be complete in the middle of this year. A formal premiere of the stories will be held in June 2018.

News

National Science Week Winners

31/10/2017

After much deliberation from the judging panel, ten winners of the ‘Science of the Snowy’ competition were announced today.

The winners came from schools across the Snowy Mountains. The calibre and creativity of entries greatly impressed the judging panel which included the Hon Mike Kelly Member for Eden Monaro, Carolyn Ewart, from Country Universities Centre, and Tumut radio personality David Eisenhauer.

Chief Executive Officer, Paul Broad, said it was fantastic to see local children so engaged in science and technology. With more than 40 entries from Batlow to Bombala, the judges had a very tough job selecting the winners.

“Snowy Hydro is a modern and growing business. While some parts of the Scheme are more than 60 years old, we’re constantly upgrading our assets and integrating the latest technology into our operations.

“The level of research and effort that went into the entries shows we have many budding scientists and engineers in our local community.

“It’s great to see curious,young minds and I hope to see some of their names pop up on applications for jobs at Snowy Hydro in the years to come”, Mr Broad said.

Recognition and thanks must go to our judging panel and all the teachers that encouraged their students to enter the competition.

Competition winners: Jamie Jessup, Jackson Trellis, Ashley Lloyd, Dakota Simpson,
Hayley Bell, Sophie Wood, Courtney Bennett, Bridie Hampshire and Tye Gulliford.

Along with the 9 students, the judges also selected the entry from the Batlow Technology School to round out the winners.

Highly commended entries Brandy Cotty, Luke Jones, Taya Douch, Lily Edgecombe, Jemima Merritt, Finn Sullivan and Rachael Babidge.

The ‘Science of the Snowy Competition’ was launched as part of Snowy Hydro’s National Science Week Celebrations. To enter students in years 3-6 in the Snowy Mountains area shared their favorite favourite science, engineering, or technology fact about the Snowy Scheme.

The winners will receive a behind the scenes tour of the Snowy Scheme. Both winning and highly commended entries will be displayed in the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma.

News

National Science Week Competition

14/08/2017

‘The Science of Snowy’

As part of National Science Week this year, Snowy Hydro is running a ‘Science of the Snowy’ competition for Snowy Mountains students in years 3-6.

Paul Broad, Chief Executive Officer, said that National Science Week was a great opportunity for students to learn more about the science and engineering aspects of the Snowy Scheme.

“The construction of the Snowy Scheme was one of the civil engineering wonders of the modern world and from our pioneering past, we have grown into a modern and innovative energy company,” Mr Broad said.

To enter the competition just tell us your favourite science, technology or engineering fact about the Snowy Scheme. Your entry can be in words, pictures, a drawing or even a video.

Mr Broad said his favourite fact is that the Snowy Scheme acts like Australia’s biggest battery.

“While the Snowy Scheme may not look like a typical battery, it acts just like one. In the same way as a battery stores energy, the Snowy Scheme stores water which can be quickly used to create energy when it’s needed”, Mr Broad said.

Each winner will get two tickets to a VIP tour of the Snowy Scheme (including a power station) with some of Snowy Hydro’s very own scientists and engineers.

All winning and highly commended entries will also be displayed in the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma.

The competition is open to students at schools within the Snowy Valleys Council and Snowy Monaro Regional Council regions and in years 3-6.

The ‘Science of the Snowy’ competition opens on 14 August 2017 and closes at 5pm on 22 September 2017. An independent panel of judges will select the winners, with the panel to be announced shortly.

For more information on how to enter and some Snowy Hydro topic ideas visit our NSWk competition page here

News

Visitors in Cooma ahead of drilling for Snowy 2.0 commencing

28/06/2017

The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Parliamentary Secretary Bronnie Taylor visited Cooma today ahead of investigative drilling commencing for Snowy 2.0.

Snowy Hydro Limited CEO Paul Broad and Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) CEO Andy Goodwin provided a Snowy 2.0 update and showcased one of the drill rigs.

Mr Broad said the investigative drilling, which is expected to commence next month after all approvals, is a critical milestone for the Snowy 2.0 feasibility study.

“The drilling will provide us with detailed geotechnical information about the rock formations, strength and structure of the area where the tunnels between the Tantangara and Talbingo reservoirs and underground power station will be located.”

“The core holes will be drilled in key locations so that we have a very clear picture of the geology and can better plan and cost the project.” Mr Broad said.

The geotechnical information collected through this process will be shared with research and education institutions for science and research purposes.

The Prime Minister, Deputy Premier and Parliamentary Secretary’s visit was also an opportunity for Snowy Hydro and SMEC to bring together their local project teams to celebrate the reopening of the SMEC office in Cooma.

SMEC’s CEO Andy Goodwin said the reopening of their Cooma office and work on the Snowy 2.0 feasibility study will continue to generate economic activity in the region.

“It’s great to be working on such a iconic hydropower project with Snowy Hydro that reflects on our namesake and history. For SMEC this is an opportunity to bring back our local people with global experience to contribute to the legacy for the next generation.

“The Feasibility Study will generate more than 250 jobs across professional services, construction and administrative support and if Snowy 2.0 goes ahead we expect to create about 5000 jobs over the life of the build,” Mr Goodwin said.

The Snowy 2.0 Feasibility Study will be completed by the end of this year.

Snowy Hydro is proud to provide secure, stable and reliable renewable energy to households and businesses. If built, Snowy 2.0 would increase the generation capacity by up to 50 per cent, making up to 2000 megawatts available to the National Electricity Market.

News

Snowy Hydro Appoints Chief Operating Officer

02/02/2016

Longstanding Snowy Hydro Limited executive, Roger Whitby, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and mining executive John McGagh will join Snowy Hydro as the company’s inaugural Chief Digital Officer.

The Executive team appointments are in response to the retirements of current COO Ken Lister and Executive Officer, Information and Control Systems, Ian Cooke, who have both dedicated decades of their lives to Snowy Hydro.

Currently Executive Officer – Trading, Roger Whitby has extensive engineering and trading experience, marrying market experience with technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of Snowy Hydro’s unique operations.

“Roger is one of Snowy Hydro’s most accomplished Executives,” CEO Paul Broad said.

“His appointment as COO will bring together Snowy Hydro’s trading, water, environment and operations team to form a seamless link between the water under our management, our portfolio of generation assets and the National Electricity Market.

“Roger will oversee not only the operation, maintenance and capability of the iconic 4100 megawatt Snowy Scheme assets but also our three gas fired power stations – Laverton North (320MW) and Valley Power (300 MW) in Victoria and Colongra (667MW) in New South Wales – as well as our diesel peak generators in South Australia.

“The nature and geographical location of our portfolio of assets gives Snowy Hydro its competitive edge and I am confident in Roger’s ability to drive further improvements in our asset capability, responsiveness and reliability.”

Commencing in March 2016, experienced mining executive John McGagh will join the Snowy Hydro Executive team in the position of Chief Digital Officer. John has spent the past 30 years in a range of roles at Rio Tinto, the most recent of which was as Head of Innovation.

“He comes to Snowy with a global track record in technology and has been at the forefront of innovation in the mining sector particularly in big data and robotics,” Mr Broad said.

“John is a change agent and has runs on the board in terms of improving business performance with technology and innovation by building partnerships with the private sector and academia.

“I am excited to hear John’s vision and ambitions for our systems, processes and assets and how we can get more out of our business by further embracing change, automation and technology. John’s leadership and strategic skills will also be a welcome addition to the Snowy Hydro executive team.

“I pay tribute to both Ken Lister and Ian Cooke who have dedicated their lives and careers to Snowy Hydro, our iconic assets and our people. Along with Roger, Ken and Ian were part of the team that brought together the trading and generation companies to form Snowy Hydro Limited in the early 2000s.

“Ken and Ian are both recognised leaders in the Snowy Mountains community and I have no doubt they will continue to be strong contributors in the Cooma region.”