The head of Snowy Hydro 2.0 has admitted the energy project will be delayed by up to two years.
Chief executive Dennis Barnes said issues with tunnelling machines, along with the increasing cost of materials and lingering effects of the pandemic mean the project would not be finished until almost the end of the decade.
Mr Barnes said the cost blowout for the multi-billion dollar project due to the delays was still being worked out.
“A combination of factors have meant that it’s pretty clear that the schedule will go out by between one and two years,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“Over the next few months, we’ll work through what the cost implications are.”
Snowy Hydro 2.0, which was due to be operational by late 2026, will connect two dams in southern NSW via almost 30 kilometres of tunnels and a new underground power station.
The project would operate as a natural battery by using excess wind and solar energy to pump water uphill before releasing it during peak periods to provide power to the national electricity grid.
Mr Barnes said the tunnelling machines had only completed one per cent of work since digging started in November.
Delays were caused once the machines hit softer rock, causing it to be trapped.
Mr Barnes said the tunnelling machines would be back working again in “weeks, not months”.
“We weren’t expecting that soft ground. So the effort we’ve been applying over the last few months is to harden that ground to move the tunnel boring machine forward,” he said.
“These machines are huge pieces of equipment which we obviously have to be very mindful of safety when we moved them forward.”
The chief executive said delays had also been caused by the project beginning near when the COVID-19 pandemic started, as well as supplies and labour costs increasing.
“You end up with a combination of these factors, which you know, I’ve included in my mind that we have got this delay, the good news is we have made progress on an awful lot of fronts,” Mr Barnes said.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said issues surrounding Snowy Hydro 2.0 needed to be examined.
“We need the government to take the lead in the energy transformation, that includes a big build of not only new renewables generation, but also a new transmission,” he told ABC Radio.
“There’s significant problems with some instructions that (Snowy Hydro) got from the last government that haven’t been fully addressed by this government.”
– AAP
