The cost of Australia’s Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project has increased again, with the Commonwealth-owned development now expected to cost as much as A$25 billion and full commissioning pushed back to late 2029.
Snowy Hydro has set a revised target cost of A$22.2 billion while allowing for a higher-cost scenario of A$25 billion.
The project was initially announced with an estimated cost of around A$2 billion, meaning the upper end of the latest forecast is more than 12 times the original figure.
Machine tunnelling is around 65% complete, while cavern excavation is approximately 90% finished.
Energy transition cost under scrutiny
Snowy 2.0 is designed to link two existing reservoirs through around 27 kilometres of tunnels, creating a massive pumped-hydro storage system capable of supplying electricity when wind and solar generation are low.
The project is expected to provide 2,200 megawatts of generation capacity and enough stored energy to power about 3 million homes for a week.
However, the repeated cost increases and delays have intensified scrutiny of whether the project can deliver adequate economic value.
Snowy Hydro estimates the project could reduce wholesale electricity costs by more than A$7 billion through to 2075.
Critics argue that figure remains far below the capital required to complete the project.
For the Federal Government, Snowy 2.0 remains central to energy reliability as coal-fired power stations retire, but the latest cost revision raises fresh questions about who ultimately carries the financial risk of Australia’s largest renewable energy infrastructure project.
