The Smart Energy Council has urged all sides of politics to stop playing political games with Australia’s energy transition, following today’s announcement by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher regarding updated costs and schedules for Snowy 2.0.
The reality is that Snowy 2.0 is a project owned by both past and present governments, Smart Energy Council Chief Executive David McElrea said, initiated and signed off under former Energy Minister Angus Taylor and inherited by the current Labor Government following the 2022 election.
“If you strip the partisan politics from the discussion around Snowy 2.0, the core question becomes simple: is this long-duration storage project worth completing?” Mr McElrea said.
“Our answer is an unequivocal yes.”
“Snowy 2.0 will be the largest clean power generator in Australia – providing 2,200 MW of dispatchable capacity and 350,000 megawatt-hours of large-scale storage. That is the equivalent of putting a household battery into almost every home in Australia.”
“It will underpin reliable, low-cost power for major industrial engines like the Tomago aluminium smelter, which directly employs over 1,000 people and relies on secure domestic energy to produce Australian-made manufacturing materials.”
The Smart Energy Council noted that while budget pressure and construction delays on mega-infrastructure projects are frustrating, abandoning critical storage infrastructure at 65% tunnelling completion would be a disaster for power prices, grid reliability, and industrial confidence.
“Blame games don’t build power stations,” Mr McElrea added. “The simple truth is that no one is building new coal-fired power plants, and nuclear energy is a slow, multi-billion-dollar distraction that won’t deliver a single electron for at least 15 to 20 years.”
“Solar, wind, battery storage, and hydro are the present and the future of Australia’s grid. While mega-projects carry unique engineering challenges, the lesson here isn’t to stop building – it’s that Australia must accelerate the deployment of firmed renewable energy, transmission, and storage.”
“It is critical that governments, industry, and planners work together to build clean energy infrastructure faster, smarter, and more efficiently. Our manufacturing sector, our regional economies, and our climate targets depend on it.”
Media contact:
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