The Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project is a proposed 600 megawatt 'off river' facility located on private land near the Macleay River between Armidale and Kempsey in the New England region of NSW.
The project is being overseen by Oven Mountain Pumped Storage (OMPS), which has partnered with Alinta Energy to co-develop the project. It is located within the New England Renewable Energy Zone.
The facility is expected to provide up to 12 hours of storage capacity. The project will include the construction of two reservoirs, tunnels and a new underground power station. As part of the project, upgrades to up to 60 kilometres of existing roads between Armidale and Kempsey will be required to allow for safe construction and operation access.
Key Dates
| Jul 2025 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| 2030 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| NSW Government | |
|
The Federal Government's contribution is through ARENA. |
|
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Alinta Energy |
| Successful Tenderer: | Geo-technical Site Investigation - WSP |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Apr 2020 | ARENA provided $951,000 in funding toward a feasibility study. |
| Oct 2020 | The NSW Government declared the project 'Critical State Significant Infrastructure'. |
| Feb 2021 | The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements were issued for the preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment of the project. |
| Sep 2022 | The NSW Government provided $45 million to five pumped hydro projects through the NSW Pumped Hydro Recoverable Grants Program, including $10 million to the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro project. |
| Sep 2023 | The project's State Significant Infrastructure application and Environmental Impact Statement was placed on public exhibition, closing 16 October. |
| Dec 2023 | WSP was appointed to undertake geotechnical investigations for the project. |
