Case study: Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project
The Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project is a 250-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric power generation facility that will use the decommissioned Kidston Gold Mine’s upper and lower pits.
The project has been enabled through the Queensland Government’s investment of $147 million in transmission infrastructure to connect the project to a 186-kilometre transmission line from Kidston to Mount Fox near Ingham, creating 400 jobs. Construction of the pumped hydro project will create a further 500 jobs, powering North Queensland’s economic recovery.
This project is important step in the roll out of large-scale energy storage capability to enable more renewable energy to come into the National Electricity Market. The Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project and its associated transmission infrastructure is expected to be completed and feeding into the National Electricity Market by early 2025.