A new practical atlas of potential pumped storage opportunities across Australia has been developed by power and water consulting firm Entura on behalf of Hydro Tasmania.
The atlas has already been applied to inform and enable Hydro Tasmania to shortlist potential pumped hydro sites for the ‘Battery of the Nation’ program in Tasmania. Completed in October 2017, the Pumped Hydro Atlas of Australia identified more than 5000 unique potential sites across Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to enable greater penetration of renewables in the country.
“The Pumped Hydro Atlas of Australia produced by Entura is a real-world, relevant resource informing future project development,” said Dale Bryce, Entura’s Director of Customer Strategy and Market Development. “To determine the best possible sites, our analysis took into account not only topographical suitability, but also considered all the practical factors involved in creating a viable and successful project.”
Following an exhaustive process, twenty promising sites were shortlisted for different states with a desktop review of geology, high-level engineering arrangements, and approvals requirements. For each site a map was prepared including locality, land use, planning zones, and key characteristics of the potential project.
