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.
Sign up to receive updates on the project’s progress using the form below. We will continue to provide information through this section of our website as it becomes available.