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Released June 28, 2024 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Australian mining company Evolution Mining (New South Wales, Australia) has advanced plans for a US$4.6 billion project to build a 2-gigawatt (GW) pumped-hydro storage (PHES) facility in the pit of a 20-year-old gold mine in Queensland.
The company has submitted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mount Rawdon project to the Queensland Coordinator General's office for assessment. It will be the first time that an abandoned gold mine will be repurposed for renewable energy in Australia. Today the Mount Rawdon gold mine, located around 75 kilometers from Bundaberg, is nearing the end of its life with closure planned for 2027. The company aims to repurpose the site as a large-scale, long life renewable energy generation and energy storage asset, claiming it is "critical in the provision of secure, reliable and clean power to central and southeast Queensland as coal fired generators are progressively retired".
It will involve a purpose-built upper water reservoir created on land adjacent to the existing gold mine, capable of storing water required to generate 20,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, enough to power two million homes for up to 10 hours at peak electricity times. It will be constructed more than 500 vertical meters above the base of the lower reservoir, which will be created by repurposing the mine's open cut pit. Waterway tunnels will connect the upper and lower reservoirs in a closed loop system and there will be an underground powerhouse that contains the hydro generation units.
"We are very proud that Mt Rawdon will be the first operating gold mine that, upon reaching the end of its mining life, will be repurposed as a significant renewable asset critical to Australia's clean energy future," said Jake Klein, executive chair Evolution Mining. "Mt Rawdon is set to become a 20,000 MWh pumped hydro storage facility capable of powering up to two million Queensland homes every evening, providing essential firming capacity in Queensland's transition to renewable energy. The recently completed Feasibility Study demonstrated that Mount Rawdon Pumped Hydro is economically and socially attractive and will be the lowest cost pumped hydro generation project per megawatt of capacity in Australia. At a time when concerns about the cost of living and energy security are at an all-time high, the Feasibility Study shows that the Project can deliver lower power prices for Queenslanders saving consumers almost $8.6 billion in its first 20 years of operation. This translates into a one-off $1,785 increase in the average real income of all current residents of Queensland, or approximately $4,232 per household."
The state of Queensland has ambitious plans for pumped hydro, which it wants to use to replace coal-fired power. The region's five coal-fired power stations will be shut by 2035. The government has been actively supporting pumped hydro and last summer Industrial Info reported that it had awarded the first contracts for the world's largest pumped-hydro storage (PHES) project, the $8 billion Pioneer-Burdekin project.
The government of the Queensland region has awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to Water2Wire, a joint venture by engineering firm Mott MacDonald (Croydon, England), GHD (Sydney, Australia) and Canada's Stantec (Edmonton, Canada), for the US$8 billion Pioneer-Burdekin project. Located in the western Pioneer Valley, approximately 75 kilometers west of the city of Mackay, it will take advantage of the steep, mountainous topography to ensure large vertical separation between the reservoirs. It is also located close to high quality wind and solar generation sources in the Central and Northern Queensland Renewable Energy Zones. The first stage of construction will be completed by 2032. The Queensland government has also committed $4 billion for the Borumba Pumped Hydro project, a 2,000-MW PHES project at Lake Borumba, located near Imbil. The total project cost is estimated to be US$9.4 billion. It will include the construction of six new dams, an upgrade to dam infrastructure at Lake Borumba and an underground power station. The project is due to be completed by 2030. For additional information, see June 30, 2023, article--Australia Awards First Contracts on Largest Pumped Hydro Project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The company has submitted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mount Rawdon project to the Queensland Coordinator General's office for assessment. It will be the first time that an abandoned gold mine will be repurposed for renewable energy in Australia. Today the Mount Rawdon gold mine, located around 75 kilometers from Bundaberg, is nearing the end of its life with closure planned for 2027. The company aims to repurpose the site as a large-scale, long life renewable energy generation and energy storage asset, claiming it is "critical in the provision of secure, reliable and clean power to central and southeast Queensland as coal fired generators are progressively retired".
It will involve a purpose-built upper water reservoir created on land adjacent to the existing gold mine, capable of storing water required to generate 20,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, enough to power two million homes for up to 10 hours at peak electricity times. It will be constructed more than 500 vertical meters above the base of the lower reservoir, which will be created by repurposing the mine's open cut pit. Waterway tunnels will connect the upper and lower reservoirs in a closed loop system and there will be an underground powerhouse that contains the hydro generation units.
"We are very proud that Mt Rawdon will be the first operating gold mine that, upon reaching the end of its mining life, will be repurposed as a significant renewable asset critical to Australia's clean energy future," said Jake Klein, executive chair Evolution Mining. "Mt Rawdon is set to become a 20,000 MWh pumped hydro storage facility capable of powering up to two million Queensland homes every evening, providing essential firming capacity in Queensland's transition to renewable energy. The recently completed Feasibility Study demonstrated that Mount Rawdon Pumped Hydro is economically and socially attractive and will be the lowest cost pumped hydro generation project per megawatt of capacity in Australia. At a time when concerns about the cost of living and energy security are at an all-time high, the Feasibility Study shows that the Project can deliver lower power prices for Queenslanders saving consumers almost $8.6 billion in its first 20 years of operation. This translates into a one-off $1,785 increase in the average real income of all current residents of Queensland, or approximately $4,232 per household."
The state of Queensland has ambitious plans for pumped hydro, which it wants to use to replace coal-fired power. The region's five coal-fired power stations will be shut by 2035. The government has been actively supporting pumped hydro and last summer Industrial Info reported that it had awarded the first contracts for the world's largest pumped-hydro storage (PHES) project, the $8 billion Pioneer-Burdekin project.
The government of the Queensland region has awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to Water2Wire, a joint venture by engineering firm Mott MacDonald (Croydon, England), GHD (Sydney, Australia) and Canada's Stantec (Edmonton, Canada), for the US$8 billion Pioneer-Burdekin project. Located in the western Pioneer Valley, approximately 75 kilometers west of the city of Mackay, it will take advantage of the steep, mountainous topography to ensure large vertical separation between the reservoirs. It is also located close to high quality wind and solar generation sources in the Central and Northern Queensland Renewable Energy Zones. The first stage of construction will be completed by 2032. The Queensland government has also committed $4 billion for the Borumba Pumped Hydro project, a 2,000-MW PHES project at Lake Borumba, located near Imbil. The total project cost is estimated to be US$9.4 billion. It will include the construction of six new dams, an upgrade to dam infrastructure at Lake Borumba and an underground power station. The project is due to be completed by 2030. For additional information, see June 30, 2023, article--Australia Awards First Contracts on Largest Pumped Hydro Project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
