Snowy Hydro 2.0 found to be feasible despite costing twice as much

Today, Snowy Hydro released their feasibility study into the expansion of the pumped hydro-electric storage. The study outlined that the potential upgrade will increase capacity by up to 2,000 MW at full capacity and will provide approximately 350,000 MWh hours of energy storage.

It has been agreed by Snowy’s board of directors to progress the project from feasibility stage towards final investment decision. According to Snowy Hydro, the project will be internally funded and meets financial hurdle rates under different scenario’s. The cost of the project is estimated to be $3.8-$4.8 billion.  This does not include the required transmission network upgrades  required to deliver the power from the upgraded facility. This could be a key assumption of the report and could potentially undermine the potential value of the project.

Details of the modelling are obviously tightly kept, however something that would be of significant interest is how the upgrades will stand up during prolonged periods of drought.

Final investment decision is due in 2018.

If you would like to know more about the potential impacts this may have on the future price of electricity, or details regarding the project please speak with your Edge Portfolio Manager directly or contact Edge on (07) 3232 1115 or 1800 334 336.

On Saturday AGL released their NSW Generation Plan. The Plan sets out AGL’s preferred option to extending the life of the Liddell Power Station.

The Liddell replacement plan is a combination of new renewable energy resources, demand response technologies and an upgrade to the Bayswater power station. According to AGL the weighted levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the replacement plan is $23/MWh cheaper than the cost of extending the ageing and increasingly unreliable Liddell power station.

Within AGL’s Liddell replacement the following projects are categorised as approved:

• 453 MW Coopers Gap wind farm at $62/MWh LCOE
• 200 MW Silverton wind farm at $62.00/MWh
• 100 MW upgrade to Bayswater power station
• Purchase of 300 MW’s of offtake from NSW solar projects
• Synchronous condenser at Liddell
• Up to 20 MW of demand response

The other components of the Liddell replacement plan will be in feasibility stages between 2019 and 2022. This includes the proposed 500 MW gas peaker power station.

AGL also confirmed that Liddell would not be sold as it is required by AGL and once retired the site will be repurposed to form part of its alternative generation post 2022.

If you would like to know more about AGL’s NSW Generation Plan, please speak with your Edge Portfolio Manager directly or contact Edge on (07) 3232 1115 or 1800 334 336.

Llewellyn Motors in Ipswich QLD have partnered up with Planet Ark Power to design and install Australia’s largest privately owned Solar and Smart Battery rooftop power station.

Yesterday Edge Energy Services attended the opening of the rooftop power station at Llewelyn Motors. The power station is unique in using the new technology dSTATCOM developed by Planet Ark Power to heal and support the grid, which allows commercial solar sites to export to the grid intelligently and significantly increase return on investment.

Consisting of 1,232 REC solar panels (332kW), it is expected to reduce the dealership’s carbon footprint by 8400 tonnes and save over $2 million on energy over the next twenty years.

Edge Energy Services is proud to work together with Planet Ark on the commercialisation of these projects which aims to mitigate the rising cost of electricity for consumers.

If you would like to discuss how your business can save on electricity costs through the use of solar and other renewable energy projects, please contact us on (07) 3232 1115 or 1800 334 336.