Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro project
October 1 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm AEST
Overview
The Kidston Pumped Hydro project represents an innovative approach to renewable energy storage through the transformation of abandoned mining infrastructure. Located northwest of Townsville in Queensland, Australia, this pioneering 250MW facility developed by Genex Power demonstrates how former gold mine pits can be repurposed as upper and lower water reservoirs for pumped storage hydropower.
The project showcases significant tunnelling and underground construction expertise, featuring 235-metre deep shafts and extensive tunnel networks that form the critical waterways connecting the reservoirs. At the heart of the facility lies an underground powerhouse cavern housing two reversible pump turbines, representing sophisticated underground engineering in challenging geological conditions. The scope encompasses a six-kilometre dam at the upper storage level and requires the pumping of over 25 billion litres of water from the lower storage to enable safe completion of underground construction works. A 187-kilometre transmission line connects the facility to the national grid via a substation near Townsville.
The project demonstrates comprehensive engineering integration across multiple disciplines, including detailed design of both dam and underground infrastructure, powerhouse engineering, and construction supervision of tunnelling operations. Notably, the project employed collaborative BIM modelling with all stakeholders to optimise the entire scheme design and construction coordination.
As Australia transitions toward renewable energy, pumped hydro storage addresses the critical challenge of energy storage and grid stability. The Kidston project serves as a prototype for numerous large-scale pumped hydro developments planned across Australia and New Zealand, with projects totaling over 4GW in the development pipeline. This presentation will explore the tunnelling challenges, underground construction methodologies, and innovative engineering solutions that make the repurposing of mining infrastructure a viable model for sustainable energy storage development.
Learning outcomes
In this event, you will learn:
- key components of pumped storage hydropower projects,
- ground support design for large underground caverns,
- construction outcomes and realisation of design.
About the speaker
Amit is a tunnelling engineer with over 13 years’ experience in the design and delivery of underground and geotechnical infrastructure in the rail, road, hydropower and water sectors. HIs key areas of technical competency are in the structural and geotechnical design of temporary and permanent ground support for tunnels, caverns, shafts and retaining structures. Amit undertakes and leads teams to deliver engineering services, and as a chartered professional he is passionate about providing practical solutions to clients using my collaborative approach, strong communication skills and experience working across various project stages including design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Amit has worked on projects located in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Qatar.