The cost of abandoning Snowy 2.0, Australia's largest renewable energy project, is still unknown. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes told a Senate estimates committee that the cost of ending the project has not been modelled. The company estimates completion will now cost between $22.2 billion and $25 billion, up from $12 billion in 2023. Barnes said replacing the project with batteries was modelled at $80 billion. Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said abandoning the project would be immensely costly and that the government would see it through.
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.
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the Snowy 2.0 project could now cost taxpayers up to $25 billion, up from $2 billion proposed in 2017. The project's completion has been pushed back to late 2029. Bowen said the scheme would supply power for 150 years and described the cost increase as very unfortunate. Geological challenges and early design decisions have been blamed for the rising costs. Bowen rejected opposition calls for his resignation and said the project would be completed.
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The publicly owned Snowy 2.0 hydroelectricity project now carries an estimated cost of up to $25bn, far above its original figure of about $2bn. Announced in 2017 by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, it would link two Snowy reservoirs through lengthy tunnels to store power for periods of high demand. Early feasibility work put the cost between $5.4bn and $6.9bn, and a final investment decision followed before geological studies were complete. Tunnelling has been slowed by stuck machines and a worker strike, pushing completion to late 2029 with more than a third of tunnelling still ahead.
Calls have been made to scrap the Snowy 2.0 hydropower project after its estimated cost rose again. Snowy Hydro now estimates the cost could reach $25bn, and the project is not expected to be operational until spring 2029. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said Energy Minister Chris Bowen should be removed. Mr Bowen described the cost blowout as very disappointing but defended the project as providing net benefits, saying it will last 150 years.
The cost of the Snowy 2.0 pumped-hydro project could reach $25 billion, more than 12 times the original $2 billion promise. Snowy Hydro says the updated target cost is $22.2 billion, with an allowance for a $25 billion scenario. The new completion target is late 2029. Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the project remains a good use of taxpayer money. Opposition members, including Dan Tehan and Angus Taylor, have called for Mr Bowen to resign over the blowouts.
The cost of Snowy 2.0, the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric expansion, may now reach up to $25 billion. The project was priced at $2 billion when proposed in 2017. Its completion has been pushed back to late 2029. Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the project would still provide net benefits and blames geological challenges and early design decisions. Tunnelling is now 65 per cent complete. Opposition energy spokesperson Dan Tehan has called for Mr Bowen to resign, which he has refused.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has called on Energy Minister Chris Bowen to resign following the latest cost blowout on the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project. Taylor has also rejected claims that he underestimated the project's likely expense when he backed it in 2019. The live coverage gathered the day's developments and reactions from the political debate, though the exact revised cost figures and the government's formal response are not clearly detailed in the available material.
The cost of Snowy 2.0, Australia's biggest renewable energy project, could reach $25 billion, according to a new review by Snowy Hydro. The figure is roughly double the last estimate, and full operation is now expected in late 2029. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes said the company was disappointed by the higher costs, which he linked to earlier design problems and a larger workforce of about 5,000 people. He said the project was in its strongest position yet but did not rule out further cost increases.
