Hydro Tasmania reveals three most promising sites for pumped storage

13 March 2019


Hydro Tasmania has revealed the three sites selected for further investigation into their pumped hydro potential, following an examination of 14 sites around Tasmania identified in a study last year.

Lake Cethana, Lake Rowallan and Tribute have emerged as the most promising pumped hydro sites in the Australian state, with Hydro Tasmania stating that they represent strong and sustainable development opportunities with the sort of long-term storage options the future national electricity market will need.

In the Mersey-Forth region, Lake Cethana offers 12 hours of storage capacity in a new upper reservoir, and Lake Rowallan offers 24 hours of storage in a new upper reservoir.

On the West Coast, Tribute offers 31 hours of storage by establishing a new connection between Lake Plimsoll and Lake Murchison.

The utility is now going to continue pre-feasibility work on the remaining sites to identify those opportunities that can deliver the target capacity total of 2500MW over time. That will take into account work that will be done on the three most promising sites.

The next stage involves a more intensive feasibility study to gather more detailed information and assess the suitability of each of the sites for development. This stage will involve engagement with local communities.

The outcome of this work will be a preferred project that could be taken forward and be ready to operate when 1200MW of additional Bass Strait interconnection comes online.



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