Kidston Pumped Hydro Energy Storage
- $47m Funded by ARENA
- $777m Total project cost
Summary
The Genex Kidston Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) project will develop a pumped hydro energy storage facility to produce approximately 250MW / 2,000MWh of dispatchable (baseload) power for export to the electricity grid.
Need
The Kidston Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project acknowledges that as the share of variable renewable energy in Australia’s power system continues to grow, large-scale storage will play a key role in ensuring reliability of supply and support for power system security. PHES is expected to be the primary technology to meet large scale energy storage requirements, including to balance variable generation, over time periods greater than two hours. PHES has the ability to provide critical system strength services that are expected to be required with the increase in inverter based generation.
This project consists of:
Learn more
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 7
This lessons learnt report addresses issues with the construction of the Main Access Tunnel (MAT) and the recent water ingress event which occurred in September 2022.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 6
This is the sixth lessons learnt report in relation to the Kidston Pumped Storage Project. It provides insight into challenges involved with delivering major equipment to the project site.
Media Release: ARENA Commits $47 million to Queensland Pumped Hydro Plant
Australia’s first pumped hydro plant in 37 years is one step closer, after ARENA committed to support Genex Power’s Kidston Stage 2 Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) project.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Construction Report
This report provides a construction overview of the Kidston Pumped Storage Project, including aspects such as the electro-mechanical, dam and transmission line works.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 5
This is the fifth lessons learnt report in relation to the Kidston Pumped Storage Project. It provides insight into remote workforce management, competition for workers and COVID-19 management at site.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 4
This lessons learnt report provides lessons and progress with regards to the transmission line works and EPC contractor.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 3
This report provides details on lessons learnt from the transmission line development and with regard to the EPC Contractor.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt 2
This lessons learnt report provides a detailed analysis on the project cost, timing, and movements to date and how these could potentially be mitigated in future projects.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Lessons Learnt
This report provides a detailed analysis on the Kidston PHES project cost elements as at financial close, particularly focusing on the cost build up elements so they can be learnt from for future projects.
Report: Kidston Pumped Hydro Financial Close
This report provides a basis for future commercial development of pumped storage hydro technology in Australia.
Action
Genex will deploy a 250 MW, 8 hour storage PHES asset into the North Queensland market. The project will be located at the old Kidston Gold Mine, around 275km north-west of Townsville.
This will be the first PHES deployment project in over 35 years in Australia and the first PHES project in Australia to be delivered by a private developer.
The level of available storage in the market will be increased to facilitate an additional 500MW of renewable energy penetration at Kidston and a potential further 500MW at Mt Fox.
Outcome
The project will demonstrate and share knowledge on the effectiveness (both technically and commercially) of the development, construction and operation of the PHES facility.
The project will continue to demonstrate and share the lessons learnt and business case for PHES in Australia, including assessment of the:
- key development issues
- construction timelines, costing and issues
- operational metrics of PHES
- regulatory environment for PHES, and
- opportunities for subsequent PHES projects across Australia.
The project will also demonstrate and share lessons on the broader economic costs and benefits of the project, including appraisal of the economic costs and benefits to consumers and market participants of situating PHES projects at disused mine sites and elsewhere around Australia.
ARENAWIRE Blogs
Kidston gold mine lives on as pumped hydro plant
Massive open cut pits will be repurposed to hold water for energy storage at a mine in north Queensland.
