The brief

Analyst view

• Operates 16 power stations, 5.5 GW capacity, 1.6 million retail customers, one-third of Australia's renewable supply.
• Snowy 2.0: 2.2 GW, 350 GWh storage. Over 70% built; first power H2 2027. Cost now A$12B+.
• Fourth tunnel borer (Monica) deployed Feb 2026 to accelerate completion.

Technical approach

As reported

Pumped storage

Water pumped uphill, released downhill

Two reservoirs at different heights; water flows down through turbines to generate electricity. Excess power pumps it back up, storing energy gravitationally.

Scale

Weeks of storage

350 GWh supplies 3 million homes for one week. One of the world's largest single-project storage facilities.

Speed

On-demand power

Pumped hydro starts/stops in seconds, matching solar/wind variability on the grid in real time.