{"id":17793,"date":"2017-12-21T10:53:40","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T00:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=17793"},"modified":"2017-12-21T13:26:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T02:56:36","slug":"snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17797\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\" alt=\"Snowy 2.0 feasibility study\" width=\"700\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b-300x203.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Snowy Hydro&#8217;s feasibility study on the Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed. It&#8217;s doable says the company, but it won&#8217;t be cheap.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The Snowy 2.0 project will increase generation capacity by up to 2,000 megawatts and provide approximately 350,000 megawatt hours <sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#en-17793-1' id='enref-17793-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(17793)'>1<\/a><\/sup> of energy storage when at full capacity.<\/p>\n<p>To be situated around halfway between Melbourne and Sydney, Snowy 2.0 would link Tantangara and Talbingo Reservoirs via approximately 27 kilometres of tunnels. A hydro power station is to be constructed at the middle point between the reservoirs, built almost 1 kilometre underground.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/VdwWV71NhGk\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/VdwWV71NhGk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0 power station would feature &#8220;reversible turbines&#8221;; enabling water to be pumped back to the upper reservoir (Tantangara) during times of low electricity demand, using surplus energy provided by renewable sources such as wind farms (or brrr &#8230;coal?). This water is referred to as &#8220;energy-in-waiting&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The company says Snowy 2.0 won&#8217;t impact on downstream water releases and won&#8217;t use any additional water.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;By moving or recycling water between our existing storages, it gives us more flexibility to manage our water, especially in times of drought,&#8221; says Snowy Hydro&#8217;s Guy Boardman.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>What Snowy 2.0 Will Cost &#8211; And Who Will Pay?<\/h2>\n<p>The current estimate for the project is a whopping $3.8 &#8211; $4.5 billion; far higher than initial guesstimates of around $2 billion. Commenting just prior to the report&#8217;s public release; Snowy Hydro Chief Executive Paul Broad <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2017-12-20\/snowy-hydro-2.0-could-actually-cost-as-much-as-$4.5b\/9277368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the company would pick up the tab and there will be no cost to taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>However, RenewEconomy&#8217;s Giles Parkinson\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/reneweconomy.com.au\/costs-double-for-turnbulls-snowy-2-0-plan-to-push-coal-uphill-68730\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">states<\/a> the feasibility document says Snowy 2.0 is only viable if Snowy Hydro stops paying dividends to its government owners \u2013 so in effect, a tax-payer subsidy. The RenewEconomy article also raises other thorny questions about the project.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE:<\/strong> David Leitch has also <a href=\"http:\/\/reneweconomy.com.au\/first-thoughts-snowy-2-0-will-lift-emissions-without-more-renewable-91362\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published his take on Snowy 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming it goes ahead, the first power generated from Snowy 2.0 is expected in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The company claims while other technologies can be implemented if Snowy 2.0 is not built, such as battery storage and gas peaker stations, Snowy 2.0 is &#8220;by far&#8221; the cheapest option.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Snowy 2.0 has significant benefits for consumers. By pairing new dispatchable renewable generation with large scale energy storage, Snowy 2.0 will make renewables reliable and lower future energy prices,&#8221; says the feasibility study summary. &#8220;Snowy 2.0, along with the existing Snowy Scheme, will underpin an orderly transition from coal to renewables and help Australia meet its global climate change targets.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Snowy Hydro\u2019s independent Board of Directors has approved to progress the Snowy 2.0 project from the feasibility stage towards final investment decision, and to pursue further related work and project refinements.<\/p>\n<p>A summary of the feasibility study can be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.snowyhydro.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/SH1045_SummarySnowy20_web.pdf\">downloaded here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Snowy Hydro&#8217;s feasibility study on the Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed. It&#8217;s doable says the company, but it won&#8217;t be cheap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":17797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Snowy Hydro&#039;s feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Snowy Hydro&#039;s feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"474\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\"},\"wordCount\":484,\"commentCount\":9,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\",\"name\":\"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Snowy Hydro's feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":474},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\",\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Michael Bloch\"},\"description\":\"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive","description":"Snowy Hydro's feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive","og_description":"Snowy Hydro's feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":474,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Bloch","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Bloch","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1"},"headline":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive","datePublished":"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/"},"wordCount":484,"commentCount":9,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","articleSection":["General Solar &amp; Storage News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/","name":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","datePublished":"2017-12-21T00:23:40+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-21T02:56:36+00:00","description":"Snowy Hydro's feasibility study on the massive Snowy 2.0 electricity generation expansion and pumped hydro storage project has been completed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","width":700,"height":474},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-hydro-study-mb0381\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Snowy 2.0 : Technically Feasible, Financially Viable, Very Expensive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1","name":"Michael Bloch","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c65d1fbade4404d88617552594a54366d8ca4a78bd617a48e64f9340c0b5dc09?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Michael Bloch"},"description":"Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/michael\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/snowy-2-viable-b.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-4CZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48254,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/snowy-2-vs-battery-storage\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":0},"title":"Snowy Hydro 2.0: More Expensive Than Battery Storage","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In the Snowy Mountains, a monumental machine has begun to carve its way into the earth creating a giant tunnel for what will be one of the world's largest pumped hydro energy storage systems.\u00a0 The Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme is so ambitious politicians may be legally required to wear two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/snowy-vs-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/snowy-vs-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/snowy-vs-batteries.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/snowy-vs-batteries.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/snowy-vs-batteries.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11198,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-thermal-budget-australia-mb0030\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":1},"title":"Federal Budget Confirms Cash For Solar Thermal In Port Augusta","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"May 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There will be many happy folks in the South Australian city of Port Augusta this morning after last night's Budget confirmed investment support for a solar thermal power station project. Under a Budget 2017 paper heading \"Energy for the future - solar thermal in Port Augusta\", it states: \"The Government\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar thermal power station - Port Augusta","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/solar-thermal-port-augusta.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/solar-thermal-port-augusta.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/solar-thermal-port-augusta.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26565,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/university-newcastle-renewables-mb0865\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":2},"title":"University Of Newcastle Signs On For 100% Renewables","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"University of Newcastle (UON) has inked a seven-year contract with Snowy Hydro-owned Red Energy that will see it purchasing 100% renewable electricity for its Newcastle and Central Coast campuses. The contract starts from the beginning of next year, with the renewables-sourced electricity supplied from 1 January 2020 - which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"University of Newcastle - renewable energy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/uon-renewable-energy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/uon-renewable-energy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/uon-renewable-energy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/uon-renewable-energy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29024,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/pumped-hydro-anu-mb0988\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":3},"title":"Australia&#8217;s Pumped Hydro Prospects &#8220;Destroy&#8221; Wind And Solar Arguments","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Research out of ANU indicates pumped hydro storage projects already on the board are \"more than enough to back up the grid\". The more than 20 Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) projects currently being assessed or built in five states would accelerate the nation's transition to an electricity generation system free\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pumped-hyrdo-storage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pumped-hyrdo-storage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pumped-hyrdo-storage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pumped-hyrdo-storage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pumped-hyrdo-storage.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17122,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-carbon-renewables-mb0328\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":4},"title":"Australian Carbon Cuts &#8220;Effectively For Free&#8221; With Renewables","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The cost of renewables is falling so rapidly that Australia's Paris agreement target could be met with new wind and solar PV builds at zero net cost. A study released this morning by Andrew Blakers, Matt Stocks and Bin Lu from the Australian National University (ANU) says Australia can reach\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wind and solar power - Paris agreement","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/wind-solar-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/wind-solar-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/wind-solar-australia.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/wind-solar-australia.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22897,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/aemo-integrated-system-plan-mb671\/","url_meta":{"origin":17793,"position":5},"title":"AEMO Releases Integrated System Plan For National Electricity Market","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"While some are seeing an important AEMO report as a big win for coal - it's anything but. However, what it envisions still leaves us with coal power capacity hanging around for a long time; albeit continually dwindling. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) published its first Integrated System Plan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AEMO Integrated System Plan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/aemo-renewables-coal.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/aemo-renewables-coal.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/aemo-renewables-coal.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/aemo-renewables-coal.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17793"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17819,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17793\/revisions\/17819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}