Snowy 2.0 exit cost unknown despite price blowout

The cost of abandoning Australia's largest renewable energy project, Snowy 2.0, remains unknown despite a recent price blowout. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes, who testified before a Senate estimates committee, revealed that the expense of terminating the development had not been modelled. Snowy 2.0's replacement with batteries was estimated at a cost of $80 billion.

The project, which was designed to store up to 350 gigawatt hours of renewable energy, required just under $12 billion in investment. Despite its vital importance to Australia's renewable energy transition, the cost of abandoning Snowy 2.0 had not been considered by the company. Innovation Minister Tim Ayres criticized previous coalition ministers for not identifying cost shortfalls in the project, stating that Snowy 2.0 would be a vital piece of energy infrastructure that would help keep electricity prices down.