Referral summary · EPBC Act Public Portal

Summary
Decision notices
EPBC Number
Person or organisation proposing to take the action
Industry type
Jurisdiction
Location
Project description
<p><strong>Overview</strong></p><p>The Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project (the Project) is a joint venture between Mt Rawdon Operations Pty Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Evolution Mining Ltd), as the current owner and operator of the Mt Rawdon gold mine, and ICA Investment Services Pty Ltd as trustee for the Mt Rawdon Energy Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICA Partners Pty Ltd.</p><p>The Project is located 75 km southwest of Bundaberg and approximately 20 km southeast of Mount Perry (see Att C - Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project - figures, Figure 1, page 2).</p><p>The Project involves the creation of a pumped hydro electricity generation plant through the repurposing of the pit created by the existing Mt Rawdon gold mine. The Project will store electricity generated by variable forms of renewable generation (such as solar photovoltaic and wind power), by using it to pump water to the upper storage and releasing it back into the grid (by release to the lower storage) at times of high electricity demand or low renewable electricity generation. The Project will facilitate increased renewable energy generation in Queensland, while also offering ancillary services to assist with grid stability and will provide a portion of the 9 to 16GW of dispatchable electricity the Australian Energy Market Operator has forecast as likely to be needed by 2040. &nbsp;</p><p>The proposed facility is likely to have an energy storage capacity of up to 20,000 MWh, allowing for up to 40 hours of continuous generation at 500 MW/hr, 20 hours of continuous generation at 1,000 MW/hr or 10 hours of generation at 2,000MW/hr. The final configuration and staging of capacity will be driven by market demand.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Key Components</strong></p><p>The Project involves the re-use of the Mt Rawdon gold mine which is nearing the end of its life.&nbsp;</p><p>The main components of the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project include the following (see Att C - Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project - figures, Figure 2, page 3):</p><ul><li>A pumped hydro <strong>Generation Facility</strong>, comprising a lower storage (formed by the existing mine pit), a purpose-built upper storage, waterway tunnels linking the two storages, an underground power station, switchyard, associated access works and related facilities.</li><li>An upgraded or duplicated <strong>Water Pipeline</strong> which is likely to comprise of a pump, pipes and power supply to enable the first fill of the Generation Facility (most likely from nearby Paradise Dam).</li><li><strong>Temporary facilities</strong> required for construction which are likely to include a construction camp to accommodate 300 to 500 people (including associated water and wastewater systems), a temporary concrete batching plant, quarry (potentially within the upper storage site),&nbsp;construction lay down area/s, portable power generation and a location for storage of excavated material from upper storage construction. The locations of temporary facilities have not yet been finally determined; the need to avoid and minimise environmental impacts will be a key input into the engineering design of these facilities.</li></ul><p>The Project does not include mining or mineral processing activities undertaken under the current (or any amended) Environmental Authority and Mining Leases, rehabilitation works which are not directed towards the construction of the Project or preliminary works such as geotechnical investigations and other prefeasibility works.&nbsp;</p><p>Further information about the proposed action can be found in Attachment #1 (Att A - Additional Background Information, whole document).</p><p>The Mt Rawdon pumped hydro project has a related transmission line, which is the subject of a separate referral.</p><p><strong>Potential Impacts</strong></p><p>The construction phase of the project has the potential to have impacts on listed threatened species and communities and migratory species, primarily limited to the green-field parts of the project site.&nbsp;</p><p>While placement of infrastructure has prioritised areas of previous disturbance, the project will result in the clearing of approximately 60ha for the upper storage, 6.4ha for an access road to the upper storage, 19.9ha and 11.7ha for the storage of waste rock from the upper storage and the tunnel and 57.8ha for other infrastructure including accommodation facilities, workshops, storage and laydown areas. The final location and dimensions of the access road, upper storage and temporary facilities has not yet been finalised and may be adjusted based on the findings of flora and fauna surveys.</p><p>The project area shown in section 2 of this application comprises approximately 1160ha, of which approximately 156ha will be disturbed for the project.&nbsp;</p><p>Please see Attachment #2 (Att B-1.2.1 Proposed Action, whole document) for further discussion of the potential impacts of the project.</p>
Project map

Decisions related with this referral

There are no records to display.
You don't have permissions to view these records.
Error completing request.
Project map

Decisions related with this referral

Supporting documents related with Project will be displayed here
