The big question facing people living on the east coast of Australia is whether we will have enough electricity to prevent rolling blackouts in the peak heat days of this summer. When the temperature soars our existing generating capacity is dangerously close to the point where load shedding is inevitable.
One of the solutions suggested involves expanding the existing Snowy river hydro electric power scheme which was constructed after the end of the second world war. This is termed " Snowy 2.0 " and has a tentative cost of two billion dollars, but the cost has climbed to three billion and that does not include another two billion to upgrade transmission lines to both Melbourne and Sydney.
The original Snowy river scheme was a gigantic enterprise to turn a mountain river from flowing to the sea - to flowing inland by way of a number of lakes at lower levels. As it flowed to each lower level is turned electricity generating turbines and this water created the famed Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area ( MIA ) which turned marginal grazing land into Australia's breadbasket.
The scheme took decades to complete, provided work for thousands of migrants and created huge tunnels through the mountains and a number of new lakes. Last year it made a $ 310 million profit and ownership is vested at 58% by New South Wales, 29 % by Victoria and 13 % by the Commonwealth.
If Snowy 2.0 gets the go-ahead, the public needs to know exactly what is involved, and this new plan is described as " Pumped Hydro ". It works like a giant battery where the same water can be used over and over again to generate electricity. It would require a twenty-six kilometre tunnel to connect Tantangara reservoir with Talbingo reservoir and during low power demand this excess power would pump water back from the lower reservoir to the higher one to enable need to be met when demand is highest. It would deliver a fifty percent increase on the present Snowy capacity and deliver enough power to serve hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
The snag is that even if we started work right now, it will be six years before the first kilowatt of electricity begins to serve our needs. It is envisaged that the plan would generate about five thousand direct and indirect jobs and wrap up in about 2024. It would fulfil our future needs rather than resolve the immediate problem.
Provided costs can be contained, this should deliver the right mix of hydro, wind and solar to help meet our carbon dioxide lowering commitments. The only unanswered question is how do we keep the lights on during the coming hot days of this summer ?
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