The case for nuclear is accelerating. Renewables and Snowy2 just won't cut it!Snowy Hydro 2.0 unsure when it can restart Florence after latestsetback - The Australian
SnowyHydro has begun work on dislodging the troubled tunnel boring machine Florencebut it cannot reveal when the drilling unit will resume much needed work, chiefexecutive Dennis Barnes has admitted. Snowy 2.0 has suffered a series ofproblems, including the giant tunnel boring machine, known as Florence, gettingstuck underground after becoming bogged in soft ground, forcing work to stop.In the latest blow, Snowy earlier this month said Florence was now wedged inhard rock, but Mr Barnes on Tuesday said work to free the machine has nowbegun. “Recently, Florence encountered very hard and abrasive rock whichcoupled with a curve in the tunnel resulted in a cessation of operations due tothe rock pinching the machine shield,” Mr Barnes told Senate estimates. “Theproject has sought expert advice from a contractor with experience of thesetopics in other Australian tunnelling projects. Last week, the contractorcommenced work using very high pressure water jets to remove the rock impingingon Florence’s shield. The work to remove the rock is progressing well and theestimated time for Florence’s recommencement will be determined once we haveremoved the rock.” Mr Barnes said there has been no change to Snowy’s projectedtimetable. Snowy expects to be operational by 2027. Still, the revelation willdo little to quell criticism of the $12bn project, progress of which, or lackthereof, has become a metaphor for the country’s attempt to wean its $2.5trillion economy off its coal dependency. Florence has been itching forwardless than 10m a day, shy of the required 15m or so needed to complete theproject. Mr Barnes said the developer is confident pace will accelerate, thoughcritics highlight that it is yet to encounter the soft, naturally occurringasbestos that will inevitably slow drilling. If Australia is to rapidly reshapeits power generation system from its reliance on coal Snowy Hydro’s massiveexpansion is desperately needed. Australia is installing large amounts of solarand wind, but authorities are increasingly alarmed about what will power thecountry when the sun is not shining or the wind is now blowing. Labor has setan aggressive energy transition target of having renewable energy generate 82per cent of Australia’s electricity by 2030. Developers are moving quickly todevelop renewable energy generation projects, but Australia’s rollout of so-calledback-up storage such as Snowy 2.0 is well behind the pace. Such is the concern,the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned that the country faces adecade of unreliable electricity supplies unless there is a significantincrease in development, particularly firming capacity. Coal is the dominantsource of electricity in Australia, accounting for nearly two-thirds ofgeneration throughout a typical day – and it plays a vital role in backing uprenewable generation during peak demand periods when there is unfavourableweather. AEMO now expects Australia’s coal power generation fleet to have beenretired in the next decade, increasing the pressure on Snowy 2.0 to be ready ontime. By 2028, EnergyAustralia’s Yallourn coal power station – Victoria’sbiggest electricity generator – will retire, while Origin Energy’s Eraring coalpower plant in NSW will probably have been mothballed for years by then. Toreplace coal, Australia will need a substantial increase in firming capacity.Batteries are a possible solution, but they do not have the scale of SnowyHydro 2.0, which is so large that once complete it will be able to provideenough electricity to run large swathes of the grid on its own for about aweek. Australia cannot easily build alternative pumped hydro projects, with fewavailable sites available – even less with the scale of Snowy Hydro. WithoutSnowy, Australia could face electricity price volatility.
