Australia's eastern state of Queensland unveiled plans on Wednesday to build the world's largest pumped hydroelectric energy storage system as the fossil fuel-rich region seeks a major shift to renewable energies.
The project, which is promised for delivery in 2035, will have five gigawatts of 24-hour storage capacity, more than double that of Australia's largest hydroelectric pumping project, Snowy 2.0.
Pumped hydropower technology enables long-term storage of renewable energy, a major challenge to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. “
We will use cheap solar electricity during the day to pump water. water in the mountains in order to store it
," said Steven Miles, Deputy Premier of Queensland.
“
Then, at night, we can release the water to generate electricity.
It's like a giant battery
.
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This project is at the center of the new 62 billion Australian dollars (about 41 billion euros) "
energy and jobs plan
", which will also allow Queensland to enact its objective of producing 80% of its energy from renewable sources by 2035. "
This is a world-class project
," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.
“
We know Queenslanders understand climate change.
Today, the government understands that we must take action
,” she added.
The Climate Council, an independent body, believes that the state of Queensland has one of the most ambitious plans in Australia.
This state has long been the heart of fossil fuel production in Australia.
Mining still dominates the economy there, and notably represented revenues of 40 billion Australian dollars (around 26 billion euros) in 2019-20.
In major cities, residents are increasingly aware of the climate emergency, and many supported environmentalist and climate-sensitive candidates in the last election in May 2022.
