The ECI will take approximately six months to progress the project design and constructability.
The Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project is an ‘off-river’ pumped hydro energy development on private land adjacent to the Macleay River between Armidale and Kempsey in New South Wales, within the New England Renewable Energy Zone.
The project will include the construction of upper and lower reservoirs, an underground hydroelectric power station, access tunnels, spillways, power waterway, a transmission line upgrade back to Armidale, and a new 15km transmission line to connect to the electricity grid.
Working alongside Alinta Energy, Gamuda and Ferrovial will progress the project’s design and undertake initial procurement discussions to better understand contractor capabilities and resources.
As the project has yet to receive its final approvals or reach a final investment decision, the discussions will be preliminary and not a guarantee of future work with the project.
The Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage will be designed to produce up to 900MW of electricity and store enough water for up to eight hours of dispatchable, reliable energy at full generation.
Alinta Energy’s executive director of merchant energy, Ken Woolley, said GFJV was chosen as a partner because of each company’s world-leading expertise in large-scale, complex infrastructure construction projects.
“Gamuda and Ferrovial have proven expertise in tunnelling, hydro and geo-tech, which makes this JV the perfect partner to deliver the most advanced pumped hydro project in NSW,” he said.
GFJV is currently delivering another piece of major infrastructure in NSW, the Coffs Harbour bypass project.
“This appointment builds upon our ongoing success in the Australian market and allows us to showcase our experience in delivering large-scale hydro projects. We are excited to again partner with Ferrovial to deliver this exciting and game-changing project for Alinta Energy and NSW,” said Gaumda CEO Ewan Yee.
