Snowy Hydro has announced an immediate independent safety review and audit of the Snowy 2.0 project following a serious safety incident earlier this week. The company will also require changes to the leadership of principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV) as part of its response.
The actions come after an underground fan failed on Tuesday morning, losing part of its blade. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. As a precaution, all underground work was halted to allow for a thorough inspection of all fans. FGJV is collaborating with SafeWork NSW to assess their safety, with the goal of progressively resuming underground operations.
“Nothing is more important to Snowy Hydro than safety,” the company said in a statement. “Recent safety concerns at Snowy 2.0 have made it clear that as the client, our assurance role over FGJV’s activities requires this intervention.”
Snowy Hydro has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards at the project and stated that it will work closely with its workforce and unions to maintain a safe working environment.
Snowy 2.0 is a massive pumped storage expansion of the original Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, designed to provide 2000MWof energy storage and generation capacity. The project aims to play a key role in Australia’s transition to renewable energy by acting as a giant battery, storing excess energy and supplying it when needed.
However, the project has faced multiple challenges, including delays, cost overruns, and technical difficulties. Safety concerns have also been raised in recent months, prompting Snowy Hydro’s latest intervention to ensure that proper safety protocols are followed, the company said.
