Alinta Energy drops $2B pumped hydro project
- Alinta Energy and partner OMPS terminated plans for the Oven Mountain pumped hydro project in New South Wales due to unfavourable economics and transmission hurdles.
- The company did not disclose any direct, immediate financial stock changes resulting from the cancellation of the pre-construction development.
- The cancellation forms part of broader industry difficulties in progressing large-scale renewable energy storage infrastructure against rising costs.
Energy supplier Alinta Energy and its partner OMPS cancelled plans for the Oven Mountain pumped hydro project on the Macleay River in New South Wales.
The decision follows several years of technical evaluations, planning phases, and community engagement for the development located between Armidale and Kempsey.
“Economic and timing challenges on key elements of the project, including a critical transmission line, made it unviable to proceed,” Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro stated.
The cancelled infrastructure proposal was previously designed to deliver 900 megawatts of electricity generation capacity alongside eight hours of storage.
The development was originally positioned within the New England Renewable Energy Zone to help replace retiring coal-fired power plants.
Energy sector participants continue to face widespread budget pressures and transmission constraints across multiple large-scale storage initiatives.
