I’m Jane.
I represent an energy trader at Snowy Hydro.

Let me show you where Australia’s energy comes from.

Energy when you need it most.

Snowy 2.0 helps make Australia’s renewable energy affordable and reliable.

Australia's energy comes from many sources

A mix of wind, solar, gas, coal and hydro powers everything from homes to offices to industry and ensures a reliable 24/7 supply.

Flick the switch
Coal
Gas
Hydro
Wind
Solar

These are the top 5 sources

Others include kerosene, battery storage, coal seam gas and diesel oil.

Australia's energy mix is changing

Over time, renewables will play a much bigger role in the energy market. Especially, rooftop solar.

coal
gas
hydro
wind
solar
batteries
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Source:  AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator)
Note: representative only, icons not to scale

Snowy 2.0 works alongside renewables to help keep energy affordable and reliable, 24 hours a day.

The energy market is complicated, so we’ve simplified things on the following panel to show you Snowy 2.0’s relationship with renewables. It’s not technically perfect, but you get the concept.

Morning

When people are waking up and getting ready for work or school, energy demand rises. This means Snowy 2.0’s generation could be needed at this peak time.

Daytime

If the sun is shining, there will be high solar output (helped by rooftop solar), so this will help cover energy demand. Snowy 2.0 could be pumping at this time.

Evening

People are returning home and using energy to watch TV, cook dinner and heat or cool their houses, so energy demand is high. This means Snowy 2.0’s generation could be needed at this peak time.

Energy Supply
Energy Demand
Drag the sun to change the time of day
Energy Supply
Energy Demand

At any time supply exceeds demand in the grid – day or night – Snowy 2.0 can use the excess energy to pump, storing water in the top reservoir, ready to be used again. It's the cheapest, most efficient way to provide large-scale energy storage – the equivalent of 2,700 of the South Australian big batteries.

Want to know more about just how big this project is?

Meet my colleague Alex, he’s a construction manager and he’ll tell you all about it.

Thanks Jane

Now come with me and I’ll explain Snowy 2.0 in numbers.

Let's go