The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Mr Anthony (Tony) Shepherd AO as a Director of Snowy Hydro Limited (SHL) for a three-year term.
According to Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, the Hon. Angus Taylor MP, Mr Shepherd is expected to bring extensive experience in large scale infrastructure construction, project management, finance and fund management to the role.
“His current positions include Chair of Infrastructure South Australia, Macquarie Specialised Asset Management Limited, Enviro Pacific Pty Ltd, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and the Australian Football League (AFL) Greater Western Sydney Giants, and Director of Racing NSW,” Minister Taylor detailed.
“Snowy Hydro has made an extraordinary contribution to our nation over the past 70 years and will continue to do so well into the future, with the construction of Snowy 2.0 marking a historic new chapter delivering new jobs and affordable, reliable power for Australians.”
Snowy 2.0 is a major expansion of the existing Snowy Scheme. It will provide an additional 2,000 megawatts of dispatchable, on-demand generating capacity and approximately 350,000 megawatt-hours of large-scale storage to the National Electricity Market.
To provide context, this is enough energy storage to power 3 million homes over the course of a week.
The project links two existing Scheme dams, Tantangara and Talbingo, through tunnels and building an underground power station with pumping capabilities.
Hydro-power will be generated by falling water spinning Snowy 2.0’s giant reversible turbines, which can also pump water in the opposite direction.
The project will create significant training and development opportunities for Australia’s workforce. At the peak of construction, the project is anticipated to generate around 2,000 direct jobs in Snowy Mountains regional areas.
“Mr Shepherd’s skills and experience will be an invaluable contribution to SHL Board, particularly as work progresses on the vital Snowy 2.0 project,” said Minister Taylor.
“The Government thanks the Hon Helen Coonan for her exemplary service as a Director of SHL. Ms Coonan had a key role in overseeing the seamless transition of the company into a Government Business Enterprise and in developing the landmark Snowy 2.0 project.”
The first power generated from Snowy 2.0 is expected to occur in early 2025.
More information on the project can be found here.