ZEN Energy is excited to commence feasibility studies and community consultation for the Western Sydney Pumped Hydro project.
WaterNSW has granted ZEN access to Lake Burragorang, Sydney’s largest water storage, to conduct numerous investigations to determine the viability of building a 1,000 megawatt pumped hydro project. To be allowed access, WaterNSW had to first be satisfied a pumped hydro project would not damage water quality.
Subject to planning and environmental approvals, as well as community support, we believe construction could commence in 2027. Western Sydney Pumped Hydro could then be supplying 500,000 homes and businesses with on-demand renewable electricity by 2031.
Large capacity renewable energy storage projects such as Western Sydney Pumped Hydro will significantly contribute to the security and reliability of Sydney’s and NSW’s energy supply, aligning with the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
An industry-leading $1 million per year Community Benefits Scheme will be created. Community consultation will also include co-design of aspects of the project.
THE PROJECT’S KEY BENEFITS
HOW DOES THE PROJECT WORK?
Pumped hydro technology is a ‘closed loop’ system, meaning water is cycled between a necessary lower and upper reservoir to store and then generate clean electricity. It also means no water is lost from Lake Burragorang, Sydney’s largest water storage.
The site of the project is also important. Not only will ZEN make best use of an old coal washery to construct, seal and line the necessary upper reservoir, an elevation of 400m between reservoirs also ensures efficient energy storage.
The project will not cause any inundation of Lake Burragorang’s shoreline or affect water levels.
ZEN Energy is the first Australian energy company to commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. This is the critical decade for action and an economy-wide transformation to 100% renewable energy is needed to achieve this science-based target.
Western Sydney Pumped Hydro is a proposed 1,000 megawatt renewable energy generation and storage project that would supply 500,000 homes and businesses with on-demand power at peak use times, for up to 8 continuous hours.
Lake Burragorang, on Gundungarra Country, already serves Sydneysiders with clean drinking water, but soon could provide them with reliable clean energy as well.
Much of the project will be underground, making use of degraded land that has been cleared, dug up and then remediated over many decades. This makes the site ideal for the project, preventing impacts on biodiversity and remaining clear of conservation areas.
ZEN will take on responsibility for the ongoing rehabilitation of the site, which was formerly a coal washery at Nattai and also ensure the water quality of nearby Lake Burragorang is safeguarded, serving as the necessary lower reservoir from which water will be pumped up through underground tunnels to an upper reservoir, situated on the old coal washery site.
The project site is 24km away from Warragamba Dam and the treatment of Sydney’s drinking water. The operation of Western Sydney Pumped Hydro will produce no change to water levels in Lake Burragorang and will not cause any flooding of the shoreline or surrounding natural environment.
PROJECT TIMELINE
It’s very early days and an announcement about the project simply means the start of numerous studies, consultation, and design development.
All going well, ZEN expects construction could begin in 2027, subject to community and stakeholder support, investigations and approvals. The project could then come online in 2031.
We are committed to, and looking forward to, sharing the development process and shaping the project design and its benefits with locals, including Traditional Owners, Wollondilly Council, and other interested and important stakeholders.
THE COMMUNITY
There are currently no published community updates.
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FAQS
Pumped storage hydropower (‘pumped hydro’ for short) is the most mature renewable technology in Australia and is a widely used and well-proven method for long-term storage of electrical energy globally.
Pumped hydro relies on the gravitational energy able to be stored in a large volume of water when it is pumped to an elevated upper reservoir. On demand, the water is released from the upper reservoir and flows through power generating turbines to a lower storage reservoir.
In the case of Western Sydney Pumped Hydro, the elevation difference between these reservoirs would be on the order of 400m, which allows for efficient energy storage per megaliter of water cycled between the upper and lower reservoir.
There is no loss of water. While water is moved between a lower reservoir and upper reservoir, it is a closed loop system: the same volume of water is cycled back and forth, not discharged outside of the system. Water is pumped uphill from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir through underground tunnels. This water is then released to generate renewable electricity via a turbine during periods of high demand, like dinner or breakfast time.
By using the movement of water to produce renewable energy, it can be stored and used when people need it.
With a potential lifespan of 70-100 years, pumped hydro projects also last several times longer than other current battery systems.
There are many operating examples of pumped hydro projects in Australia and around the world used for water supply and electricity, including the Shoalhaven Scheme in southern NSW.
ZEN Energy is committed to developing projects using industry-leading processes and equipment. ZEN is also committed to using best practices in recycling.
To quit fossil fuels and transition NSW to renewable energy, we need large-scale energy storage. That’s where projects like Western Sydney Pumped Hydro comes in. Solar and wind power can produce vast quantities of cheap power, but not all the time. Pumped hydro is critical for storing renewable energy when it’s being generated and releasing it later when needed.
Having an existing and large water reservoir – Lake Burragorang – close to electricity transmission centres makes this an ideal location for a pumped hydro project. Renewable energy is used to pump water up through undeground tunnels to an upper reservoir. When consumer demand is high, water is relased down hill, to undeground turbines, to generate and supply renewable electrcity into homes and businesses.
ZEN Energy will convert degraded land – a former coal washery – into the necessary second, and upper, water reservoir. This will minimise any impact on biodiversity and also cultural heritage.
Critically, water quality and water levels will be safe guarded. Warragamba Dam is 24km from the project site, where existing filtration systems will continue to ensure clean drinking water for all Sydneysiders. The project will cause no change to water levels and produce no flooding or inundation of the shoreline and surrounding natural environment.
Other favourable and beneficial characteristics of the project include:
- It is steep enough to make pumped hydro technology work effectively – the site has a large 400m elevation change over 3.1km, supporting the technical requirements to efficiently generate electricity from hydro power.
- It is close to transmission centres – ZEN’s preferred approach is to run additional necessary cables underground, along existing roads, to connect to existing transmission centres.
- It will generate local employment – 1500 jobs during the construction phase ans then 80 long term.
As the project will be largely underground and will take full advantage of a degraded industrial site, the environmental impact of the project will be minimal.
All development involves some kind of impact on the surrounding environment, so ZEN is undertaking a suite of field investigations to further build our knowledge of what that impact could be and then take further measures.
ZEN will consult with experts and conservation groups to minimise any identified environmental impacts of the project as it progresses.
ZEN will work to minimise any impacts to marine life during operation with a focus on the two important fish species found in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Area: the Macquarie Perch and the Australian Grayling.
Analysis so far shows that the operation of the project won’t impact the breeding areas of the Macquarie Perch or Anguilla Eel. The volumes of water entering the lake from the upper reservoir will produce no inundation of the shoreline or disturbance to breeding areas on the lake.
During construction, materials will have to be brought in via the main roads to Nattai and the former coal washery site. ZEN does not yet know how often and how many trucks will travel along those roads, but this will be done in consultation with locals and within existing strict environmental and planning guidelines.
Once on site, construction will have minimal noise and dust impacts for locals as much of the work will be underground and many kilometres from homes.
ZEN understands the community has recently been through a difficult period with the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall. The proposed Western Sydney Pumped Hydro project has no connection to the dam wall proposal.
We are determined to engage early and openly with local communities, Traditional Owners and First Nations groups, and all interested stakeholders.
ZEN has begun engaging with First Nations groups, before a formal announcement, in the interests of seeking prior and informed consent and will further engage Traditional Owners and key First Nations parties on the cultural significance of the site, and work with them to better understand traditional storylines, potential impacts, and benefits to inform the project design.
ZEN will undertake formal cultural studies and management plans with Registered Aboriginal Parties as part of the state planning process.
The planned transmission route will include underground cables that follow existing roads. This will avoid building large transmission towers and overhead lines, and protect nearby conservation areas.
