A major milestone has been reached on Australia’s Snowy 2.0 pumped storage hydro project, with TBM Lady Eileen Hudson completing excavation of a 6km tunnel and breaking through into the underground cavern in the Snowy Mountains.
The breakthrough marks the completion of the 2,300-tonne machine’s tunnelling work on the project. The 11m-diameter TBM previously excavated a 2.85km access tunnel before the 6km tailrace tunnel, which will connect Snowy 2.0’s underground power station to the lower water reservoir, Talbingo Dam.
Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said it was the first TBM breakthrough on the project and described the achievement as “pretty significant”.
“We’re on the way to connecting the whole project,” he said.
Barnes said the breakthrough was symbolic of the momentum being achieved at what is Australia’s largest renewable energy project.
“There’s nothing more exciting on a tunnelling project than a breakthrough. Even more so with Snowy 2.0 because the geology we’re working with is extremely challenging,” he said.
“The ground under the Snowy Mountains is making us work for every metre, but like the original Snowy Scheme, it’s inspiring to see what Australia can achieve when we take on the hardest tasks.”
Also on the project, TBM Florence[https://www.tunnelsandtunnelling.com/news/good-progress-being-made-on-snowy-2-0-headrace-tunnel/] is approaching the halfway mark on its 15km journey. Barnes said Florence was now consistently achieving personal bests.
Snowy 2.0’s recently commissioned fourth TBM, Monica[https://www.tunnelsandtunnelling.com/news/snowy-2-0-commissions-fourth-tbm/], is one of the world’s most advanced. Designed for the complex geology of the Long Plain Fault Zone, Monica is excavating the opposite end of the same tunnel as Florence. The two machines will meet in the middle before being disassembled underground.
Barnes said the key to Snowy 2.0’s increasing momentum was the skill and dedication of its roughly 5,000-strong workforce.
“Snowy 2.0’s people are proud of the work they’re delivering, the way they’re solving problems and delivering incredible feats of engineering every day,” he said. “They’re also proud of the legacy their work is creating for Australia.
“Just like the original Snowy Scheme, the project is difficult and not without its setbacks. But when we’re done, we’ll have an incredible asset owned by every Australian to underpin energy reliability and security for generations.”
