24 May 2021
The manner of the federal Coalition government’s decision to provide $600 million of taxpayer funds to Snowy Hydro’s proposed gas generator at Kurri Kurri is a disgrace.
The 660MW Kurri Kurri open gas project, assuming it will go ahead, will reinforce Snowy’s dominant position in the long duration firming market, and it will give it dominance of the NSW, Victoria and South Australia markets.
But it also flies in the face of developments in battery storage. Snowy Hydro is the only major “gentailer” not doing batteries, and its strategy seems to be based around the assumption that battery storage is not happening.