Snowy 2.0: Webuild reveals secrets of the hydroelectric plant in a new video

renewables, snowy 2.0, snowy hydro, sustainability, Webuild,

April 16, 2024

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Webuild and Geopop reveal secrets of how Snowy Hydro’s hydroelectric plant can produce clean, sustainable electricity in their latest video.

Embark on a journey of discovery at the biggest renewable energy project under construction in Australia. Snowy 2.0 is a giant battery being built by the Webuild Group and its Australian subsidiary Clough in a joint-venture called Future Generation on behalf of Snowy Hydro Limited that will support the country’s energy transition.

How is a project this complex built? How does a network of 27 kilometres of tunnels under a mountain get excavated in order to be able to produce clean, sustainable and always available electricity? To explain it all, a video has been produced by Webuild and Geopop, a production house dedicated to popularising science in Italy.

The plant, under construction in the Snowy Mountains in the state of New South Wales, is a pumped-storage scheme. It is able to store and produce electricity, making it available to Australian cities when needed. It is different from wind and solar as a renewable energy source because it is not as dependent on weather conditions.

The complex engineering project involves expanding a hydropower system and increase its production capacity from 4.1 to 6.3 MW. The water from the Tantangara Basin at 1,230 metres above sea level will be drawn down a tunnel with 10 metres in diameter excavated in the rock. The water will go down and empty at 600 metres in the Talbingo basin, located at 540 metres above sea level.

At the heart of the project is the powerhouse some 800 metres underground. It is the largest of its kind to be excavated at such a depth where clean and renewable energy is produced with the passage of water. There are three tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) involved in the construction of the tunnel network. One TMB is 211 metres long, like two football pitches. This TBM is capable of excavating 9 to 47 percent inclines.