Hydro storage plant proposed for disused mine

Power generation company Genex Power has proposed the construction of a 330 MW pumped storage hydroelectric power plant at the disused Kidston Gold Mine in North Queensland.

Estimated to cost around $282 million, the proposed plant will operate on an off-peak pumping, peak generation cycle, storing excess electricity during periods of low demand and high generation. Genex is also exploring the use of variable speed turbines, which can effectively manage grid stability in areas with grid constraints or high levels of renewable energy generation.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has agreed to provide $4 million support for an ongoing feasibility study into the construction of the plant. As explained by Acting ARENA CEO Ian Kay, “The project will identify the technical, financial and regulatory roadblocks to the further development of pumped hydro and large-scale storage in Australia, along with any risks involved with using disused or abandoned mine sites for energy storage.”

Kay is optimistic that the work could reinvigorate the pumped hydro storage industry in Australia and enable more renewable energy to be used on national grids, stating, “Pumped hydro storage can provide a cost-effective alternative to large-scale battery storage and concentrating solar thermal storage.

“The proposed plant would take advantage of the Kidston mine’s unique characteristics and the existing infrastructure at the site, minimising its environmental footprint,” he continued. “The novel approach will use the former mining pits as upper and lower water storage reservoirs.”

The results of the feasibility study are due in October 2016 and could, according to Kay, “give abandoned mines across Australia a new lease on life”.

“Genex has already identified nine sites with similar characteristics to Kidston that could be potential future candidates,” he said.