"Bankable, critical:" State puts two pumped hydro energy storage projects on planning fast-track

$7 billion pumped hydro projects declared critical for NSW: Sharpe, Scully, Jackson I Australian Rural & Regional News

The Hon. Penny Sharpe, Minister for Energy and the Environment (NSW); The Hon. Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces (NSW); The Hon. Rose Jackson, Minister for Water (NSW), Joint Media Release, 6 February 2026 Two multi-billion-dollar renewable energy projects with the potential to power over 1 million homes in peak demand have been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) by the Minns Labor Government. Worth more…

Australia’s New South Wales designates 22GWh of pumped hydro as critical infrastructure

The NSW government has declared two pumped hydro projects totalling 22,000MWh of storage capacity as critical infrastructure.

Hydro energy projects on NSW fast-track list for 2026

Two pumped hydro energy projects in NSW worth $7 billion have been put on the fast-track for ministerial approval with no right of appeal. The projects are the $3.5bn Western Sydney Pumped Hydro Project at Lake Burragorang (which could power 500,000 homes) and the $3.6bn Yarrabin (Phoenix) Pumped Hydro Project near Mudgee (600,000 homes). The hydro projects have both been declared “Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI)” projects which…

"Bankable, critical:" State puts two pumped hydro energy storage projects on planning fast-track

Two multi-billion dollar pumped hydro energy storage projects declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure in race to cancel out coal.

NSW declares $7B pumped hydro projects critical to energy grid

Two proposed pumped hydro energy projects valued at more than $7 billion have been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure by the NSW Government, a designation that allows them to proceed through a state-led planning and assessment process.