Hydro scheme runs into dam wall
MORE questions have been raised over the State Government’s commitment to achieving the potential for hydro power on the Burdekin Falls Dam despite Energy Minister Mark Bailey yesterday endorsing a proposed $ 100 million scheme.
In a statement, Mr Bailey told the Bulletin the current proposal and an investigation into raising the dam wall would not preclude any pumped storage project in the future.
But the former Queensland manager for Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation when the Burdekin Dam was built, Jim Ryan, said he understood the Government’s dam owner SunWater had selected an option for raising its wall that would make hydro much more difficult.
When asked on Thursday, a spokesman for SunWater did not deny the claim.
The SunWater spokesman said no decision had been made on whether raising the dam wall was the best solution for the Burdekin region.
While government corporation Stanwell is studying a 30- 50MW Burdekin hydro scheme, energy expert Professor Simon Bartlett has said the original 1970s plans for hydro were for a capacity of up to 1500MW.
Yesterday, Mr Ryan confirmed this was the case and was concerned SunWater had chosen a profile option for raising the dam that would be incompatible with installing gates and hydro.
“It will make it much more expensive to raise the dam up to the envisaged full supply level and level proposed for hydro,” Mr Ryan said.
Mr Bailey said the Government understood the importance of dispatchable renewable power.
“The current proposal for a hydro power station on Burdekin Falls Dam and the investigation into the raising of the dam wall would not preclude any pumped storage facility being constructed in the future,” Mr Bailey said.