Pumped hydro is a proven and reliable form of energy storage, allowing energy to be stored for longer than most current battery technologies.

It works by using two reservoirs of water – one up high and one down low to store energy and generate electricity. When solar and wind power is plentiful, this energy is used to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir.

When energy is needed, the water from the upper reservoir is released back into the lower reservoir turning turbines which generate electricity. This electricity is sent to the grid for use in homes and business.

We are progressing the development of a pumped hydro energy storage project on land and waterways we own near Lithgow.

The NSW Government has declared the project as Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI), highlighting its importance as essential, high -priority infrastructure for the state.

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How it works

The project would use water from Lake Lyell (a man-made lake originally built to support local power stations), existing transmission infrastructure, and see the development of a purpose-built reservoir behind the southern ridge of Mount Walker (not visible to the majority of Lithgow).

Expected to operate for up to 80 years, this project will generate 385 megawatts of electricity for 8 hours at a time with capability to deliver 430MW for a shorter duration – offering more reliable and affordable energy to support hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the local community, Central West region and across the state.

The upper reservoir which stores the energy will connect through an underground waterway to a powerhouse with two pump turbine units approximately 170m below ground level, where the reversible generating units will store energy by pumping water to the upper reservoir, or generate energy by releasing water back down to Lake Lyell.

Electricity will exit the powerhouse through buried cables to the 330kV switchyard on the edge of the lake connected to the existing 330kV transmission lines. The outlet from the powerhouse connects to the lower reservoir through the tail waterway which emerges into an inlet/outlet structure on the edge of Lake Lyell in Farmers Creek arm.

During daily operating cycles Lake Lyell water level will fall and rise by approximately 2.5m over a typical 24 hrs as water is pumped from the lake to store renewable energy and then is returned to the lake to deliver renewable energy back into the grid.

The operational life of the project will be approximately 80 to 100 years.

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Energy Australia acknowledges that the site of the proposed Lake Lyell Pumped Hydro project is on the traditional Country of the Wiradjuri People. We recognise their continued connection to land, waterways and community, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.