The Borumba Pumped Hydro project comprises a proposed two-gigawatt / 48 gigawatt-hour pumped hydro storage project. The project is to be located at Borumba Dam, 70 kilometres south-west of Noosa in Queensland. Included in the project works will be construction of a 2.6-kilometre tunnel. Once complete, the upper dam volume will be 31.5 gigalitres.
The project is being delivered across four packages.
Package One: Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) Project:
- the design and construction of several wet waterways including twin upper and lower intakes, twin power tunnels, pressure shafts, high-pressure tunnels, and manifolds.
- the design and construction of dry access tunnels including the main access tunnel and twin emergency, cabling, and ventilation tunnels, and
- a power station complex at the bottom of the vertical pressure shafts to house the OEM electro-mechanical equipment. It will likely include the construction of two main caverns: the powerhouse cavern and the transformer cavern
Package Two: Upper Dam:
- Excavation and construction of several dam walls for a main dam and saddle dams.
Package Three: Lower Dam:
- Construction of a new dam wall and spillway to increase the storage capacity of Lake Borumba.
Package Four: Original Equipment Manufacturing
- provision of main generation plant and equipment, power station services, hydro mechanical equipment, and steel lining.
The project is being led by Queensland Government-owned Powerlink Queensland.
Key Dates
| Jun 2021 | Project Announcement |
| Apr 2024 | ROIs Open: Package One, Two and Three |
| May 2024 | ROIs Close: Package One, Two and Three |
| May 2024 | EOIs Open |
| 2026 | Expected Contract Award: PHES Contract |
| 2026 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| 2026 | Expected Contract Award: Lower Dam Package |
| 2026 | Expected Contract Award: Lower Dam Package |
| 2030 | Expected Construction Completion |
Financing
| Equity Finance: | Queensland Government |
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The Queensland Goverment committed $6 billion in equity financing in the 2023-24 Budget. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Queensland Hydro |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jun 2021 | The Queensland Government announced $22 million toward detailed design and cost analysis for the project. The Business Case is expected to take 24 months to complete, with a submission expected to Government by late 2023. |
| Aug 2021 | Powerlink Queensland issued a Request for Information for environmental studies and community consultation support, closing 27 August. An Invitation to Tender for the Owner's Engineer and Technical Advisory Services contracts was also expected to be issued. |
| Jun 2023 | The Queensland Government committed $6 billion in equity financing to the project in the 2023-24 Budget, and confirmed the final total cost for the project would be $14.159 billion. |
| Oct 2023 | The Queensland Coordinator General declared the project as a coordinated project. Following the declaration, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project is now required to be prepared. |
| Oct 2023 | Queensland Hydro has issued a Request for Tender for the delivery of the Borumba Dam Pumped Hydro and the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro project's Environmental Impact Statement and strategic advisory services. The project was also declared a coordinated project by the Queensland Coordinator General. |
| Oct 2023 | An Expression of Interest process commenced for the tunneling and drilling contract for the project's exploratory works, closing on 4 December. |
| Nov 2023 | Queensland Hydro issued a Request for Tenders seeking design, supply, construction and maintenance services of temporary water infrastructure during this phase of work, closing on 29 November. |
| Dec 2023 | Queensland Hydro issued two Request for Tenders (RFT) for as part of the exploratory works for Borumba Dam Pumped Hydro project. One RFT is seeking contractors to undertake geotechnical drilling investigations, closing 2 February. The other is seeking associated technical services and management support, closing 22 February. |
| Feb 2024 | Queensland Hydro issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design of the project, closing 29 March 2024. Successful proponents will design the project’s Upper and Lower Reservoirs and assist Queensland Hydro in engaging with contractors for dam construction. The contract with be awarded either as a single contract or separate contracts for the Lower and Upper dams. |
| Apr 2024 | Queensland Hydro has called for Registrations of Interest (ROIs) for three of the four main works packages, closing on 10 May. These include the Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project (PHES) package, the Upper Dam Package, and the Lower Dam Package. |
| May 2024 | Queensland Hydro has called for Registrations of Interest for Main Support Works, including roads and bridges, water treatment and supply, wastewater and sewage, amongst other services. |
| May 2024 | Queensland Hydro has called for Expressions of Interest for Connection Application Advisory services, closing 12 June. Services include pre-submission advisory services and technical support for liaison with Powerlink and AEMO. |
| Aug 2024 | The Queensland Government's Office of the Coordinator-General released the final Terms of Reference for the project's environmental impact statement. |
| Sep 2024 | Queensland Hydro has announced three contracts totaling $191 million for the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project. Water2Wire, a Joint Venture between GHD, Mott MacDonald and Stantec, has been awarded the $40 million Dams Designer Deliver Partner package. A Joint Venture between AFRY and Aurecon were awarded the $40 million Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Designer package and Decmil were awarded a $111 million to design and construct two temporary works camps on site. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2023)
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Unconfirmed |
Location
Queensland |
Resources
Media releases
2024/02/12 - Dams Designer RFP2021/06/08
2021/08/10
2023/10/12
2023/10/12
2024/09/17 - Design and worker camp contracts
Tender notices
RFP - Dams DesignerRFT - Technical Services and Management Support (Geotechnical Drilling)
2023/11/01
RFI - environmental studies and community consultation
EOI - Tunneling and Drilling Exploratory Works contract
RFT - Geotechnical Investigation and Drilling
ROI - Main Works
EOI - Connection Application Advisory Services
