Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project

[ozbob]

Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project

https://qldhydro.com.au/projects/pioneer-burdekin/

The Pioneer Valley and adjacent ranges in the Burdekin catchment have been identified as a preferred second site for a long-duration pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) facility.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> 'Could balloon to $18bn': Hydro Pump, Qld's most expensive project $

A Queensland pumped hydro-electricity project slated to cut through the world's platypus capital and furiously opposed by locals could balloon to $18bn – the state's most expensive project ever.

Premier Steven Miles has admitted the state government can't say what taxpayers will be slugged for the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro project – but will push on with the plan anyway, despite defending his highly criticised cut-price 2032 Games plans over budget pressures.

Mr Miles faced a fiery reception at a community meeting in Eungella – about 70km west of Mackay – this week, as locals demanded answers over the project's impact on the region's platypus population and need for the resumption of about 50 homes.

He was also grilled on the project's eye-watering cost – pitched at $12bn when announced by former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2022 – and admitted while it would go up, there had been no official revised costing provided. ...

[ozbob]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/could-balloon-to-18bn-hydro-pump-qlds-most-expensive-project/news-story/05fed7b82df7be09100990b9dabfbcb8

... Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the LNP "categorically (does) not" support the project in its current form.

"We will never support a project that doesn't have a cost and a BCR (benefit-cost ratio), that is the way that good, responsible governments conduct themselves," he said. "Now the government can clear all of this up and explain the planning approvals, the traditional owners consent, the timeline delivery, the cost for delivery and the impact on Queenslanders bills and then we can make a decision on that.

"But there is no way a responsible opposition will ever support a project that doesn't have any of those factors." ...

[ozbob]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1775526411799064811?s=20

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Analysis: Steven Miles' $12bn hydro headache is set to sharpen over unexplained project $

Ploughing through picturesque valleys and disturbing platypus populations is the last thing you can be doing when spruiking your environmental agenda, writes political reporter Stephanie Bennett.

Premier Steven Miles would have thought his harshest critics of the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project would be the locals set to lose a huge chunk of their stunning region to make way for a giant dam.

After all, on paper, this project is the renewable energy dream. ...

[ozbob]

https://x.com/9NewsQueensland/status/1775438189726986539?s=20

 

[ozbob]

Premier defends rising costs of multi-billion dollar pumped hydro project in NQ | 7 News Australia

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Opinion: Final cost of pumped hydro may exceed our wildest estimates $

Labor's "jewel in the crown" of their renewable energy plan, the Pioneer Burdekin Pumped Hydro project in the Eungella region, is on track to become Queensland's own version of the Snowy 2.0 debacle.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni postponed revealing the financial implications of the Pioneer Burdekin Pumped Hydro project to taxpayers until after the October 26 election. This decision deprives Queenslanders of the chance to ask the questions of how such a project of unprecedented magnitude will impact their hip pockets, particularly at a time when cost of living is skyrocketing.  ...

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Multibillion-dollar pumped hydro 'may be Qld's Snowy 2.0 debacle' $

The state government's flagship renewable project the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro is at risk of becoming Queensland's version of the "Snowy 2.0" debacle, complete with cost escalations and delays, LNP federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry has claimed.

Ms Landry, alongside hundreds of locals in the town of Eungella about 70km west of Mackay, have been vocally opposed to the government's plan to build the world's largest pumped hydro in the middle of the platypus hotspot.

The Courier-Mail revealed last week the initial forecast $14bn for the plan was likely well under, with Premier Steven Miles even admitting the government didn't know what the bill to taxpayers would be. ...

[#Metro]

Well, what are the BCRs and NPVs for the project now?

[ozbob]

https://x.com/DebFrecklington/status/1779687055553188214

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro renewables project spends $111m buying properties, studies $

Residents in an area earmarked for a state government renewables project say Queensland Hydro has been offering up to 50 per cent above market value for land, with some being offered up to $2m.

The state government has spent more than $111m buying properties and doing technical studies for a renewable energy project that has no business case, is not backed by the opposition, and is vehemently opposed by locals. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1787518566297895041

[ozbob]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1787522467365605456

[Stillwater]

Governments should learn from history.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-11-11/garrett-rejects-traveston-dam/1138124

[ozbob]

This is definitely not a good look ... 

https://x.com/DebFrecklington/status/1787641373967159719

[ozbob]

Governments should learn from history.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-11-11/garrett-rejects-traveston-dam/1138124

Indeed. Couriermail  has this article lead up now ... 

[Stillwater]

Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro estimated to cost $12 billion (but some say $18 billion). More expensive is the $14.2 billion pumped hydro project now underway at Borumba Dam on a major tributary of The Mary River.

https://qldhydro.com.au/projects/borumba

[ozbob]

^ Borumba Pumped Hydro Project thread here

> https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15602.0

[verbatim9]

Looking at the cost you might as well build a couple of Nuclear Power plants. More reliable and sustainable and probably less environmental damage in the long run.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro: $40m for properties among $111m outlay so far $

Taxpayers have forked out nearly $40m buying up close to 50 properties for a renewable project that may never go ahead.

The state government has been adamant about keeping the cost of its property-buying spree secret, but records have revealed the acquisitions for Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro have cost a total of $39.95m.

In return, Queensland Hydro now owns 49 properties in the project area, for a total combined area of 2000ha in private property alone. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1787865204082291182

[ozbob]

Miles government ploughs ahead with plans to build dam west of Mackay | 7 News Australia

[shiftyphil]

Looking at the cost you might as well build a couple of Nuclear Power plants. More reliable and sustainable and probably less environmental damage in the long run.

It cost about US$35b (~A$53b) for the most recent nuclear power units in the US (2.2GW capacity), I don't think we can do it any cheaper.

Can't definitively compare it to this project as they're still at the "Technical studies and investigation works" stage - and it's not easy to directly compare storage with generation anyway - but the dam isn't likely to cost near that much.

[OzGamer]

Nuclear would be the most expensive of all, but battery storage might end up being cheaper than pumped hydro, even at this scale.

[shiftyphil]

Yeah, with the way battery prices are going the actual cell cost will be pretty irrelevant next to the balance of system costs.
Much like solar now, where the actual panels cost practically nothing and the land/installation/interconnection costs are what matter.

Will be very hard to be competitive against that.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro at risk of extending coal's life: Auditor-General $

Premier Steven Miles' flagship Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project could create problems in the state's transition from coal if significant cost overruns threaten its viability, the Auditor-General has warned.

The state government has faced mounting questions about the cost and benefit of the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project as it forges ahead with land acquisitions and work on a business case.

Auditor-General Brendan Worrall told a parliamentary inquiry on Monday there was little detail about whether the government's investment in the project would be beneficial.

"It's got to be a complete 'watch and brief' up until the business case, I would think, and then they'll have to make a decision based on that business case, based on the cost and projected benefits," he said. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1790064224384782640

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Pumped hydro business case report months behind $

A critical business case set to pave the way for the state government's centrepiece renewable energy project may not be ready until late 2024, months after initially expected.

It means the timelines for whether the government will give the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro scheme the go-ahead has become increasingly vague.

The mega-project is the largest of its kind and is slated to be built near Mackay. It is central to hitting the government's legislated renewable energy targets but is still subject to financial, engineering, and environmental investigations and has not received approval or funding for construction. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1798018751364989175

[ozbob]

https://x.com/DavidCrisafulli/status/1801064039042449638?t=7QwJgWq-8poBEnAenv9n6Q&s=19

[OzGamer]

Probably not the worst thing as the plummeting cost of batteries may make this irrelevant anyway. Just so long as it doesn't indicate a shift to cancelling all of the renewables projects, which I suspect it might.

[ozbob]

Government Statement

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/101053

Pioneer-Burdekin Project reaches new milestone

9th August 2024

The Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project has reached its next milestone, with the Premier today announcing that more than 5 kilometres of core samples have been collected.

To date, more than 50 boreholes have been drilled on the Miles Government's signature energy project.

The project is now entering its next phase, with publicly owned energy company Queensland Hydro confirming structurally solid granite throughout the project site.

The Pioneer-Burdekin Project will store the excess energy collected from Australia's world-leading levels of household solar, for use at night when the sun isn't shining, the wind isn't blowing and when energy usage is at its peak.

It's expected to support thousands of jobs and boost the local Mackay economy by billions of dollars. ...

More > https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/101053

[ozbob]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/lnp-dismantles-truth-telling-inquiry-pumped-hydro-mega-project/news-story/f76c5f7f1953452c5436afeb313d64e8

... Days after taking power, Queensland's LNP government has dismantled key energy and First Nations reforms championed by the former Labor regime.

Premier David Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie on Thursday confirmed all work had stopped on the Pioneer Burdekin Pumped Hydro project west of Mackay. ...

This project will not continue. 

[#Metro]

ABC News coverage

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Labor's pumped hydro scheme costed by Treasury at $36.77bn $

Labor's Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro project would have cost Queenslanders an eye-watering $36.77bn, secret Treasury modelling has revealed.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Treasury analysis provided to the new LNP state government puts the price of the controversial renewable energy project at $36.77bn.

It is five times what the state has allocated over the next 15 years to upgrade the Bruce Highway, and enough to fund $1000 in energy bill rebates for 14 years.

Queensland Treasury found the present value – if built today – there was a 90 per cent chance the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro project would cost near $24.75bn. ...

[OzGamer]

We definitely need the energy storage, but I think the economics are making batteries a more obvious choice than they were a few years ago, even for this amount.

[aldonius]

Fun comparison: if every vehicle in the state were a high end Tesla (100 kWh), that would comprise about 500 GWh collectively of battery storage.

Did Pioneer-Burdekin get to the stage of committing to a storage quantity?
If I'm reading the Borumba specs correctly, that project is up to 24 GWh. I'll pretend that the rest of the car represents land and balance of plant and say that a Model 3 LR AWD has an 82 kWh battery for $68k AUD, so 0.83 $/Wh, corresponding to just under $20 billion for a Borumba's worth of batteries (+stuff).

[SilverChased]

I'll pretend that the rest of the car represents land and balance of plant and say that a Model 3 LR AWD has an 82 kWh battery for $68k AUD, so 0.83 $/Wh, corresponding to just under $20 billion for a Borumba's worth of batteries (+stuff).

The batteries die faster than hydro though. I wonder what maintenance costs would be.

[ozbob]

Government

MEDIA STATEMENT: Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/101593

The Crisafulli LNP Government has released the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project Detailed Analytical Report.

Queenslanders can read it here ( https://www.epw.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/72570/PB003_PB-DAR-Executive-Summary-0411.pdf )

The Government has formally stopped this project because it's not financially viable, not environmentally appropriate and the community was never consulted. ...