NSW Govt grants planning approval to Snowy 2.0 project

The multi-billion-dollar Snowy Hydro project – commonly known as Snowy 2.0 – marks another major milestone as it secures planning approval from the New South Wales Government. 

“Snowy Hydro is an icon of our community, with Snowy 2.0 already employing about 500 people, directly injecting more than $35 million into the Snowy Mountains and involving more than 100 local businesses. 

“This latest approval will see the creation of an extra 2,000 jobs during the construction phase, unlock billions of investment in regional NSW and allow the next stage of construction to further progress this legacy project,” Deputy Premier and Member for Monaro John Barilaro said. 

This planning approval for major construction follows the approval to build a tunnel segment factory in March, which is going to be located in Cooma and will supply over 130,000 concrete segments that will line the tunnels for Snowy 2.0. 

“In March we approved the Snowy 2.0 Segment Factory, and this month we approved the Snowy 2.0 Main Works, enabling the creation of new jobs and the flow of substantial investment into our State. 

“The projects approval also requires Snowy Hydro to invest almost $100 million for biodiversity and environmental offsets to protect threatened species and deliver long-term conservation and recreational benefits for the Kosciuszko National Park,” NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes said. 

Source: Snowy Hydro

Snowy 2.0 will include constructing a 240-metre-long hydro power station about 800 metres underground. The project will also include building 27 kilometres of tunnels that will link two existing dams – Tantangara and Talbingo dams. 

“Once complete, the project will add 350 gigawatt hours of energy storage and 2,000 megawatts of generation capacity to the State’s grid – enough to power 500,000 homes during peak demand,” Minister Barilaro said. 

With planning approval granted by the New South Wales Government, the project will now be forwarded to the Federal Government for final approval. 

In April of last year, Future Generation – a joint venture between Clough and Salini Impreglio – was awarded the contract to undertake engineering, procurement and construction for the Snowy 2.0 project. You can read more about it here. 

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Source: The West Australian; Renew Economy; The Urban Developer; International Water Power & Dam Construction; Snowy Hydro