Bechtel, a US-based engineering firm, has been awarded a contract by BE Power and GE Renewable Energy, a division of General Electric, to provide planning support for a pumped storage hydropower facility in Australia. The Big-T hydropower project is located in south-east Queensland at Lake Cressbrook. It consists of a 400 MW pumped hydro energy storage facility and a 200 MW battery energy storage facility, with enough capacity to power 288,000 homes with clean electricity. Due to its ability to produce and store electricity, the project will serve as an extension to Australia’s national energy grid.
Bechtel has agreed to assist in project development through a service agreement that involves developing the design and facilitating early contractor cost savings and buildability. In addition, the company will be responsible for initiating supply chain engagement with the aim of maximising local content and indigenous participation. Bechtel’s data will be used to help Big-feasibility T’s study. The project’s final investment decision (FID) will be made early in 2022.
Once the FID is approved, Bechtel will undertake the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction phase. Big-T is anticipated to support the transition of Australia’s baseload electricity away from coal-fired power facilities once completed. It will also assist the Queensland state government in meeting its goal of generating 50 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
REGlobal’s Views: Pumped storage projects can significantly help in addressing the intermittency of renewable energy projects and provide balancing reserves to the grid. Thus, they are important for renewable energy integration in the grid especially for Australia which is witnessing massive deployments of renewable energy.
