Snowy 2.0 cost blowout explodes in Senate as Dennis Barnes defends project and concedes major errors

Key points

• Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes has admitted the cost of Snowy 2.0 has blown out, saying "we got it wrong" during a Senate hearing. The revised target cost has risen to $22.2 billion, with an allowance for a $25 billion scenario, and full commissioning is now due in late 2029.
• Mr Barnes blamed poor design and missing scope, and said cancelling the project would make things worse.
• He also said the company will need government support by the middle of next year.