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Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is exploring the New South Wales Hunter Valley to build two pumped hydro energy projects, technology he says will play a key role in a low-emissions, reliable-energy future.
The nation's energy systems operator, AEMO, has warned that energy shortfalls could arise from as early as next year as it continues to call for "urgent investment" into renewables.
Upper Hunter Hydro (UHH), founded by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, has entered into agreements with Water NSW to explore Glenbawn Dam, near Scone, and Glennies Creek Dam, near Singleton, for development.
They say the two planned pumped hydro projects will have a combined 1,000 megawatts of stored power, capable of running for eight to 12 hours a day.
"It's the most efficient way of storing large amounts of energy, of electricity, and using water as a battery," Mr Turnbull said.
"I'm concerned. I want to keep the lights on."
Mr Turnbull owns grazing properties in the region, which is considered the energy centre of New South Wales as home to the Bayswater coal-fired power station and dozens of coal mines.
"Lucy and I are very, very committed to the Hunter," he said.
"Coal-fired power stations are closing, and in due course coal mining will come to an end."
Mr Turnbull was a supporter of pumped hydro during his time as PM, strongly pushing Snowy 2.0 to increase the project's capacity.
"There will be a mixture of batteries for very short-term storage, but for longer-term storage you can't beat pumped hydro," he said.
Transitioning from fossil fuels
Australia's coal-fired power stations are all tipped to close by 2038, but AEMO expects coal will "retire faster than currently announced".
"The National Energy Market (NEM) is forecast to need a seven-fold increase in large-scale wind and solar generation by 2050," AEMO said in its Draft 2024 Integrated Systems Plan.
It says storage capacity — through batteries, pumped hydro, and virtual power plants — needs to increase significantly from the current 3 gigawatts to 57 gigawatts by 2050.
Water NSW chief executive Andrew George said this was the "latest milestone" in the state government organisation's efforts to grow sustainability initiatives.
"We have an opportunity to not only assist the transition to a renewable energy power grid, but to also assist in the creation of jobs, support the local community, and generate revenue to put downward pressure on water costs for customers," Mr George said.
"We are continuing to assess sites across our portfolio to identify further opportunities."
Glenbawn Dam is 10 kilometres east of Scone, and Glennies Creek Dam is 28km north of Singleton.
The agreement gives UHH access to the sites for investigations to develop the proposal through the feasibility and planning stages.
During this initial stage, UHH will seek to secure all necessary approvals and consent for their projects.
If successful, the company will fund, construct, and operate the projects, with estimates the combined projects could potentially generate 1,400 construction jobs and 80 ongoing operations roles.
Mr Turnbull said it was "absolutely critical" to gain a social license for pumped hydro in the region and a significant shift away from coal generation in the coming decades.
"I think in terms of pumped hydro it has a pretty low impact, to be honest," he said.
"It's not a huge dam. You're basically building a puddle, a bathtub, call it what you like, on top of a hill."
Mr Turnbull would not put a figure on how much the projects would cost and said he just wanted to "get on and do these things".
"Let's just say it'll cost plenty of money," he said.
"We've got every tool to move to a clean energy future. We've got the technology, we've got the money.
"But the one thing we don't have in abundance is time."