Snowy 2.0 costs balloon to $25bn, completion delayed to 2029

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 01:20 · Archive

Australia's largest renewable energy project, Snowy 2.0, may now cost up to $25 billion, up from an original $2 billion estimate when first proposed in 2017. Its completion date has been pushed back to late 2029, well beyond the original 2021 target. Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed the revised figures on Friday in a joint statement.

The new price includes a $2.8 billion contingency buffer on a $22.2 billion cost target. Snowy 2.0 chief executive Dennis Barnes attributed the cost increase to estimation difficulties due to the project's complexity, pointing to '40 kilometres of tunnels' and 'caverns that can fit the Opera House in one kilometre underground in the national park'.

The project, proposed under former coalition prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, is intended to enhance the existing Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme and help store excess power generated by wind and solar. Labor remains committed to completing it. Bowen and Gallagher stated that 'abandoning the project would undermine grid reliability, scrap 5,000 jobs and lead to higher bills'. Opposition politicians have criticised the cost blowout, with Nationals MP Darren Chester calling it 'alarming for Australian taxpayers'.

How it is being reported

• Snowy 2.0 blowouts 'alarming' as costs grow twelve-foldThe price of Australia's largest renewable energy project has ballooned by up to 12 times the original cost estimate as Labor and the opposition point fingers.Perth Now · 23 Oct, 00:44
• Snowy 2.0 blowouts 'alarming' as costs grow twelve-foldThe price of Australia's largest renewable energy project has ballooned by up to 12 times the original cost estimate as Labor and the opposition point fingers.The West Australian · 23 Oct, 00:43

In this story: Snowy 2.0 · Chris Bowen · Katy Gallagher · Dennis Barnes · Malcolm Turnbull · Darren Chester · Australia · Snowy Mountains

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