Podcast: the role of pumped hydro energy storage in the Australian energy transition
Listen to the podcast from our event launching the feasibility study report into using seawater in a pumped hydro energy storage facility in Cultana, South Australia.
How we generate energy tomorrow will be very different to the way we do today. Right now South Australia provides a glimpse of that future, leading the country in generation from renewable sources.
But the state’s energy system has its challenges. Large-scale energy storage is needed to stabilise the grid, so families and businesses receive reliable, affordable supplies of electricity on cloudy or windless days when renewables aren’t available.
That’s where pumped hydro can help. It’s like a giant battery, only with many more times the stored energy. With support from ARENA, consortium partners EnergyAustralia, Arup Group and the Melbourne Energy Institute, are investigating a pumped hydro project at Cultana in South Australia – using seawater, an approach applied only once before anywhere in the world.
At this seminar, results from the Cultana pumped hydro study were made public for the first time. Consortium participants provided an update on the project, followed by an expert panel discussion and audience Q&A.