Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage

In principle, the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro scheme is a good concept . I am familiar with the region from a natural science viewpoint and am concerned about the construction of a visually obvious access road up the steep western side of the Carrai Tableland. No significant comment is made in the OMPS EIS summary of findings (September 2023) about the long-term impact of the planned road, from a visual and potentially engineering perspective. Since the mountainside is ~800 m high, steep and with large exposures of bare granite rock, the placing of a road in such a location with have a permanent (meaning thousands of years or more) visual impact as well as being potentially hazardous (to users because of its tortuous and likely steep character, and for facilitating landslides of unconsolidated material. Deep cuttings (created by blasting) would have to be excavated into the granite bedrock and these scars will be (as mentioned), permanent. I do understand the problem with access to the upper reservoir site via the Carrai road across the top of the Carrai Tableland, but even so, surely this option would have a better long term environmental outcome?

I fully support this project. It will supply power to a large area ,create employment for local people and create new roads ,while this area is growing so rapidly.
Many other positives but trying to keep it short.

I support the development of renewable energy projects, especially pumped hydro.

I support the development of the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project. I understand that there are changes happening in the way we use energy. Part of these changes involve us working together to find new solutions, such as developing more solar, wind and storage initiatives. While I understand that some in the community may worry about change, I can see how the Oven Mountain Project will help make our electricity system better and take us into the future with clean renewable energy supplies.

Figure ES2 Project pumped hydro concept review and Figure 3.1.

The text underneath the Figure ES2 and Figure 3.1 shows generating mode in blue text and pumping mode in red text. Given this, generating mode should be shown in blue arrows and generating mode in red arrows - however, the colours of the arrows seem to be the other way around.

I noticed that a similar figure is displayed in the EIS factsheet on the OMPS website: https://www.ompshydro.com/upload/media/OMPS_The%20Oven%20Mountain%20project%20factsheet_WEB.pdf. The colour of arrows in the concept figure in this factsheet confirmed my position described above. Please rectify the colours in EIS figure. Also, the closed loop image in the factsheet is helpful to the readers. Please consider including this image in the EIS.

The project will provide significant energy storage capacity to the New England Renewable Energy Zone. Bringing better outcomes and prices to the end user.
The project will also bring great economic benefits and opportunities to the region, by creating jobs, supply opportunities and apprenticeship opportunities for locals.
This project will have positive benefits at a local and state level, and greatly contribute to the transition to NET ZERO.

There must be many more suitable sites for a project like this which are closer to major infrastructure, would have a lower cost and which offer less damaging risks to the environment than this financially risky project.

Great to see local power generation thats green. Jobs and stable power are important for the future. It just seems right.

Yes, I support Oven Mountain Hydro as a close Landholder for the potential jobs and infrastructure it will bring to the region, the only suggestion I will have is for private residences near the main road is that we need sealed pavement in excess of 1km each side of premises for dust suppression as this impacts our rainwater quality and overall wellbeing due to the traffic that will increase dramatically as a result. Also, as proposed a haul road from eastern access should have an exit road at Georges Junction to minimize traffic as well as an OHS safety aspect if eastern access is cut e.g., by fire or failure to infrastructure a second bridge that should be considered on the Armidale side.
The road should stay as private haul road for Oven Mountain Hydro employees, Contractors, Emergency Services and adjoining Landholders .

I am writing to express my support for this project. I work on the project and it has enabled me to transition to the renewables industry after 18 years working in oil and gas. I believe it will provide an unprecedented opportunity in the Macleay Valley and surrounds for people to get a foothold on meaningful lifelong careers.

I also support the project because I believe it is essential for grid stability and power price reduction.

Dear Minister,

Re: Submission of Objection by Prof Andrew Baker to the Proposed Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Proposal: Application Number SSI-12422997, EPBC ID Number 2020/8850, Assessment Type; Critical State Significant Infrastructure. Exhibited as: (EXH-62250958)

I am writing to you as a university academic employed at UNSW Sydney with expertise in the fields of groundwater, hydrology and climate. I have been working in the Macleay region for the last ten years, focussing on the recharge of the groundwater in the National Parks adjacent to the proposed Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Scheme (see, for example, Baker, A. et al. 2020. Rainfall recharge thresholds in a subtropical climate determined using a regional cave drip water monitoring network. Journal of Hydrology, 587, 125001).

I thank you and appreciate your making available and exhibiting the DA, EIS and accompanying documents as well as the opportunity to provide a Submission of objection to the Proposed Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Development Application. I do not think this proposal is in the public interest and I object to the project.

From my review of the EIS, my detailed concern relates to the lack of proper consideration of climate change. Climate change is not adequately considered in the EIS. I refer to the one page of general commentary provided (section 7.2.3 in Appendix M, part vi, pages 108-109), with no hydrology or water balance modelling for future climate states. I am concerned that the EIS relies on two outdated NSW OEH climate change snapshots from 2014 and 2015. My review of current guidance from NSW Government is that the projections for the near future (until 2039) show that temperature will be warmer by around 0.68 deg C, consistent across all seasons, and evaporation from the reservoirs will therefore increase. (https://www.climatechange.environment.nsw.gov.au/projections-map?region=nsw&climateprojection=tasmean&range=0). The same guidance suggests there is little change in rainfall in the near term (until 2039) (https://www.climatechange.environment.nsw.gov.au/projections-map?region=nsw&climateprojection=tasmean&range=0). This combination of higher temperatures and similar rainfall will lead to increased evaporation from the uncovered reservoirs.
In addition, the region is likely to experience more climate extremes e.g. longer and more severe droughts, and more severe and longer floods. These are particularly likely to be associated with climate drivers La Niña and El Niño, which affects the region in late summer / early autumn, as shown by data from the Bureau of Meteorology: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/lanina_janmar1.shtml. The latest research from the CSIRO shows that these events will get more extreme e.g. in an El Niño, droughts will be more severe and longer. In a La Niña, floods will be more severe and longer. For reference, this ‘explainer’ article from the CSIRO also provides links to the technical paper: https://theconversation.com/new-study-helps-solve-a-30-year-old-puzzle-how-is-climate-change-affecting-el-nino-and-la-nina-205128

In summary, this is a proposal which does not adequately assess the impacts of climate change on the day-to-day water balance of the proposed pumped hydro scheme that uses uncovered reservoirs for its water storage. Nor does it consider the role of more severe floods and drought that are forecast to occur with climate change which may prevent water top-up from the Macleay River for extended periods during drought. To what extent will abstraction need to increase with increased evaporation, and will this be possible? Will abstraction be possible under the low flows associated with severe or prolonged El Nino?

In the context of climate change, my opinion is that a large battery would be a more suitable option and one that is urgently needed to store excess daylight energy generated by our state's solar farms.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this Submission of objection and I look forward to working with all involved to achieve a good result for the community, economy, environment and water in which we live.

Yours sincerely

Prof Andy Baker

t: 0450 148648
e. [email protected]

I am writing to object to this submission for the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project.
This will have a significant detrimental impact on the local landscape with all relevant infrastructure.
The project will be open to biosecurity risks as a result.
The project will threaten the lives and habitat of wildlife and livestock.
The added surface infrastructure will change the landscape to that of rural to industrial.
The added traffic will damage the local ecosystem.

I object to this project. My reasons are as follows:
- This project with all its construction and continual maintenance will bring with it the risk of biosecurity threats.
- There will be a significant threat to all the local wildlife given that their natural habitat will be destroyed during construction and possibly with ongoing maintenance.
- How many endangered species will be displaced due to this development?
- What threats will this development have to local livestock?
- This infrastructure will be that of a permanent feature on this landscape, and as such, take the landscape will drastically change from what was once rural to that of an industrial landscape.
- This change in landscape will have a significant negative impact on the community, as the value that they place on their ‘way of life’ will no longer be.
- The land value of the properties hosting, and neighbouring infrastructure will significantly decrease due to the infrastructure.

I support this, as long as it also allows for an increase in water supply for the region

Voice for Walcha object to the Oven Mountain Hydro Project because of the impacts on biodiversity as a result of the project being in close proximity to the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Gondwana Rainforests of Australia and a wilderness area. The details of our submission are in the attachment. Also attached is the submission from Dr Stephen Debus to the Winterbourne Wind Farm. The relevance is outlined in our submission.

This would help NSW small businesses if local NSW content was maximized.

Support Clean Energy and renewable future energy supply project inititives

Get real!
This is another "warm and fuzzy" tax payer funded unreliable energy source1 We are already short of energy and yet this concept is being pursued as if we had excess energy to run the turbines at night so as to recoup the energy for tomorrow!
For this concept to be practical, there has to be an excess off-peak energy - Stdry the laws of physics for just a moment to understand that this is just another tax payer funded failure to enhance overseas companies profit margin with no real gain of total energy produced

I live very close to this project and very much support it as I feel it will be very good for our community.
But I very much have an issue with armidale kempsey road. Although the armidale council is restoring the road after disasters over the last 4 years they have said they will not guarantee it will be suitable for heavy loads or heavy traffic once completed. Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro have stated that they will build a crossing at Cameron’s Gully as access across the river to the site to avoid the worst of the road and most of the traffic will come via Kempsey. I don’t believe this will be the case as Armidale is just as close and with hundreds of workers coming and going they will certainly be coming via Armidale and as the road around Lower Creek is not suitable for that amount of traffic another crossing at Georges junction is absolutely necessary. I live at Lower Creek and even with the road closed at the moment to “local traffic only” my property is continually covered in dust from the road. Unless Oven Mountain Hydro and Armidale Council put their heads together to address this issue, this amount of traffic past my property will create not only a health hazard but even when the road is restored will be down right dangerous. Unless this is done I could no longer support the project.
Better still take the restoration off Armidale Council and give it to Transport for NSW as I don’t believe the Council has the community nor the project’s bests interests in mind. They have always proven to be incapable of such a project.

4th generation landowner farmer, I support the project.