NEWS - Lighting up the night sky Advances in snow measurement Regional business boost Snowy 2.0 update - Snowy Hydro
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NEWS ISSUE 53 WINTER 2021 Lighting up the night sky Advances in snow measurement Regional business boost Snowy 2.0 update
INSIDE
3 CEO’s message
4 TBM Naming Competition
5 Women in STEM
6 Jindabyne Central and Monaro High
7 Providence Portal
8 Advances in snow measurement
9 Regional business boost
10 Snowy 2.0
12 Concrete segment factory
13 Young driver training
14 Red Energy Ambassadors
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This page, Betts Creek Valley near Spencer Creek. Cover image, Tumut 3 Power Station. Photo Ian Grant.
2
CEO UPDATE
A message from Managing Director
and CEO Paul Broad
Teamwork is a value we see every day in our Work continues at rapid pace on Snowy 2.0, the
business and it helps us achieve success in a major pumped-hydro expansion of the Scheme.
highly competitive sector. There are many new work fronts and more than
1,000 people working on this fantastic project
Effective teamwork isn’t just about a group
that, when complete, will ‘firm’ intermittent
of people doing a job. It’s having a collective renewables like wind and solar so we can
goal and working collaboratively with energy, generate power when it’s needed.
enthusiasm, innovation and often, flexibility,
when things change unexpectedly. I hope you’ve visited our website or followed
Snowy Hydro on social media and seen some of
So it makes me very proud seeing our Snowy the excellent Snowy 2.0 project videos that we
Mountains region bouncing back from the lows publish each month.
of bushfires and COVID, and of course, the
role Snowy Hydro is playing in this recovery. Shortly there will be an opportunity to vote for
Together with the community, local businesses, names for our two remaining tunnel boring
local government, agencies and other key machines - they will be named after inspirational
stakeholders, we are all making a contribution. or ground-breaking Australian women in STEM,
so keep a lookout for the online voting period
It’s great to see local food and accommodation later this month.
houses busy and businesses throughout
Meanwhile, we’re gearing up for winter
the mountains benefiting from increased
throughout the business and hoping for plenty
economic activity generated by both Snowy
of snow that will later become our 'fuel' supply,
2.0 and Snowy Hydro generally. We look to
to generate clean hydroelectric power. Snowy’s
work with local suppliers as much as we
hydrographic, water, scientific services and other
can and value our relationships with our teams all come together so we can effectively
contractors, who are key to helping keep the manage water across the Scheme.
Snowy Scheme assets in great shape and work
with us on individual projects. If you’re driving through the mountains this winter
season, please take care and drive to conditions.
This certainly applies with Snowy 2.0 and our
construction contractor Future Generation
Joint Venture. The partnership relies on great
cooperation, teamwork and shared principles,
which we have recently celebrated during
the commissioning of our first tunnel boring Paul Broad
machine, the Lady Eileen Hudson. Managing Director and CEO
3
One of the Snowy
2.0 tunnel boring
machines that needs
naming; a Snowy
Scheme scientist.
Science Renewables Energy Engineering Tunnel Boring Machine
Technology Woman in STEM Maths Water Power Science Renewables
Energy Engineering Tunnel Boring Machine Electricity Technology
Science Renewables Energy Engineering Tunnel Boring Machine
Technology Woman in STEM Maths Water Power Science Renewables
Energy Engineering
TBM Tunnel Boring Machine Electricity Technology
NAMING COMPETITION
CAST YOUR VOTE!
T
he three tunnel boring A competition with schools in the contractor, Future Generation
machines (TBMs) that Snowy Mountains region is helping Joint Venture, have chosen a
will be commissioned decide names for the remaining shortlist from the nominations and
for Snowy 2.0 have a two machines. Snowy Hydro has members of the public are invited
mammoth task ahead. enlisted the help of local students to vote for their favourite.
In total, the TBMs will excavate to come up with a list of possible
The two names that receive the
27 kilometres of tunnels to link options, inspired by Australian
most votes will be bestowed
Tantangara and Talbingo dams, women in STEM.
on each of the unnamed TBMs.
with a new underground power Students from years 5 to The students who nominated
station also to be built. 12 (stages 3-6) have been the most popular names will
The first TBM to start work was researching the work of women win a VIP experience at the
officially named the Lady Eileen working in science, technology, Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in
Hudson at a commissioning engineering and mathematics Cooma, and a special visit to see
ceremony at Lobs Hole. TBMs are and have discovered many one of the TBMs at a Snowy 2.0
traditionally given female names fascinating examples. construction site.
for good fortune on the project Representatives from Snowy Check Snowy Hydro’s social media
before they begin tunnelling. Hydro and Snowy 2.0 principal accounts for details on how to vote.
4
WOMEN IN STEM
Snowy snapshot
A new generation of engineers and scientists at Snowy Hydro are
modern day role models for students considering a career in STEM.
Like so many working in STEM disciplines, all three grew up with a
curiosity about how things work, and a love for problem-solving.
Sara Winsome Emilie
Roder Whyte Lapointe
Sara Roder was an inquisitive Winsome Whyte studied civil As a geotechnical engineer on
child, who constantly asked her engineering and architecture at Snowy 2.0 since the start of the
parents to explain things to her university with her eye on a career geotechnical investigations
so she could figure out how as a specialist structural engineer, program, Emilie Lapointe knows
they worked. After three years but her career path was not a thing or two about rock types
studying mechanical engineering straightforward. in the Snowy Mountains.
at university, Sara joined a
Winnie's early roles were in Her team uses the information
three-month vacation program
construction management and gathered by drilling through rock,
at Snowy Hydro. She returned a
project management before a down-hole and lab testing to
year later after completing her
regional opportunity led her to build the geological model for
degree to take up a role as a
a role as a strategic engineer the design of Snowy 2.0’s tunnels
graduate mechanical engineer
with Snowy Hydro’s dam safety and underground power station.
and has worked in various teams
assurance team. Winnie loves Emilie initially considered a career
at Snowy as part of the graduate
the science and maths behind in political science, but the idea of
program over the past two years.
why something works and enjoys hands-on problem-solving led her
Her current rotation is in Snowy’s
applying that logic to solve real to pursue a role in STEM.
Investigations and Development
world problems.
Projects team, which looks
at innovative ways to improve
day-to-day work on the Scheme.
5
SCHOOL REPORT
Jindabyne Central
and Monaro High
P
hysics and engineering the Discovery Centre in Cooma, A few weeks later we visited the
students studying presented by a Snowy Hydro Guthega Power Station, where we
electromagnetism for engineer and their education were warmly welcomed by a Snowy
their HSC at Jindabyne programs manager. Hydro engineer, who showed us
Central School and the inner workings of the plant and
The presentation described the
Monaro High School recently had took the time to answer our many
underlying principles our students
the opportunity to experience questions. A particular highlight
learn about in their study of physics
power generation in real life. for the group was a demonstration
at HSC level and how that applies
They consolidated their learning of the start-up procedure and full
to power generation at Snowy
with a trip to the Snowy Scheme, operation of one of the generators.
Hydro. In the immersive theatre,
organised by Snowy Hydro’s
we also saw a bird’s eye view of The sights, sounds and feel of the
education programs team.
the Scheme’s operation using an moving water under our feet, of the
Science teacher Charles Dean interactive projection of the region turbine and the generator above
accompanied his students on that students could move around. our heads filled our senses. It was
the two-part excursion and wrote a highly impressive demonstration
My students were impressed by the
this report: of how physics theory has been
expertise and knowledge shared by
applied on a large scale.
I recently had the enjoyable task of the team at the Discovery Centre.
arranging a Stage 6 (years 11 and They commented on how well the I was impressed with how
12) excursion for physics students chosen visuals portrayed physics well-prepared and accommodating
from my school, Jindabyne Central. principles at work, and the scale the team was towards engaging
The first part of the excursion and complexity of the operation as with our Stage 6 students, who all
was a multimedia presentation at a whole. thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Students at Guthega Power Station. Teacher Charles Dean third from right.
66
REGIONAL WORKS
PROVIDENCE PORTAL
A
n important part of caused erosion which destabilised
regular operations the embankment, leaving a steep
at Snowy Hydro is slope and increased sediment
ensuring the Snowy levels in the channel.
Scheme’s assets and
surrounding environment are safe To stabilise the bank, steep batters
and well-maintained. Changing were excavated or ‘laid back’ to
seasonal conditions and extreme reduce the slope and earth was
weather events are part of life then spread and compacted
in the mountains, but can cause onsite. Rock armour was brought
damage to equipment and natural in to help the channel better
structures. withstand future erosion. The site
was temporarily fenced off and
At Providence Portal, an
closed to the public while our
earthworks project was recently
contractor, Leed Engineering,
completed to stabilise eroded
embankments and reduce further carried out the six-week
erosion downstream where remediation work.
water from the Tantangara to The long-term benefit of the
Eucumbene tunnel outlet flows project is a much safer and
into Eucumbene Dam. improved foreshore experience for
The 500m section of channel is people visiting this area of Lake
designed to sit below the Lake Eucumbene, a popular spot for
Eucumbene full supply level, but fishing and camping. With work
had recently been exposed due complete, Providence Portal was
to current lake levels. Water flow reopened to the public in May.
Works at Providence Portal have included installation of rock armour. 77
SCIENCE
Snow depth sensor and weighing scale; snow corer.
Advances in snow
measurement
S
nowfall and the has a higher water content - water carried out along a line of reference
subsequent spring melt density in a ripened snowpack can points to measure the snow
contribute around two- be up to 50% or more! characteristics at each point and the
thirds of the water stored results are ‘meaned’ for an overall
The latest monitoring
in Snowy Hydro's dams. As representative measurement.
technologies, deployed at
this is the 'fuel' supply to generate
a number of remote winter Both methods provide data for a
clean hydroelectric power, it’s
locations, use a snow depth particular section of the catchment,
essential to understand how much sensor and weighing scale
snow has accumulated across the but conditions of the snowpack
system to capture the depth can vary significantly depending on
mountains to effectively manage and weight of a one-metre
water within the Snowy Scheme. elevation and aspect, and changes
square patch of snow, with data
throughout the season.
Through the winter season, regularly transmitted directly to
Snowy’s Hydrographic team the Water team for analysis. One Historical records provide lots of
measures various characteristics of these high-tech systems is useful information, but are only
of the accumulated snowpack, operational at the Deep Creek representative of that location.
including snow depth and weight. snow monitoring site, between Move 100 metres up or down the
This information allows Snowy Cabramurra and Khancoban. mountain and the reading will
Hydro to calculate the amount Field measurements are also be different again. Coupled with
of water, or water density, of conducted at key snow monitoring satellite imagery analysis of snow
the snowpack. Skiers would be sites using a hollow metal tube cover through the year, snow
familiar with powdery snow, which called a snow corer that is pushed depth measurements contribute
typically contains around 10-20% into the snow down to ground level, to Snowy Hydro's understanding
water density. Slushy snow, more capturing a sample of snow that is of potential available meltwater in
common at the end of the season, then measured by weight. This is the alpine catchments.
8
SNOWY 2.0
REGIONAL
BUSINESS BOOST
L
ast year delivered a Business is also buzzing for PHE of concrete segments will be
double whammy to industrial electrical contractors making their way to site where
Snowy Mountains in Tumut. The long-established they will be assembled into rings
motels and resorts, with local outfit has provided electrical to line the tunnels.
bushfires hampering services to Snowy Hydro for the
Midland has hired more than a
summer travel and severely past 17 years and has now added
dozen extra workers, including
damaging Selwyn Ski Resort, Snowy 2.0 to their list of projects.
welders and mechanics, to
and COVID restrictions impacting The team has been busy installing
assemble and fit out 14 custom-
winter activities. This year has electrical mains cables and
made vehicles. Each of the vehicles
seen the return of weekend external lighting at the segment
has a prime mover and three
and school holiday tourism and factory at Polo Flat. PHE has
short trailers specially designed
Cooma Motor Inn, like many taken on extra staff to meet the
to distribute the weight of the
local motels, is busier than ever. increased workload and is using
segments and safely manoeuvre
The Sharp Street motel, with 43 local companies for supplies.
the steep, winding conditions on
rooms and the newly opened Further afield, Midland Industries mountain roads. With 130,500
Gate restaurant, is frequently at Parkes is gearing up for its fleet concrete segments required to
occupied with workers for Snowy of custom-made trailers to hit the line the 27 kilometres of tunnels,
2.0. With the ‘no vacancy’ sign road between Polo Flat and the the trucks will carry nine tunnel
often needed midweek, even the Snowy 2.0 construction sites. With segments each (rather than three
traditionally quiet days of the low the first tunnel boring machine on a traditional semi-trailer) and
season have become a rare event. now commissioned, large loads help reduce traffic on the roads.
L–R: Cooma Motor Inn; the custom-made segment trailers; Adam Boyd from PHE Tumut. 9
PROJECT UPDATE
SNOWY
2.0
Main image: TBM at main access tunnel portal; Joule Ridge works; the Lady Eileen Hudson TBM; works at Tantangara
Snowy 2.0 is now in full ceremony, the TBM has moved closer to the rock face.
through various stages of final
swing, with steady progress The final stage of commissioning
preparation and construction of
at a number of sites across the support infrastructure needed will see a further seven blind
the project. for tunnelling, including the rings installed to push the
process water treatment plant and TBM’s cutterhead and shields
At Lobs Hole, the Lady Eileen underground. At this point,
concrete grouting plant.
Hudson tunnel boring machine permanent segment rings will
(TBM) is completing the final The first stage of commissioning
be installed, and in parallel,
stages of commissioning. This the TBM involves installing six
progressive installation of the
TBM will excavate two separate temporary segment rings, which
are the same dimension and remaining gantries as more room
tunnels – the main access is made available in the TBM
tunnel to the location where shape as the permanent segments
that will line the tunnels as they’re cradle. With the 137-metre TBM
the underground power station completely underground, the
excavated. This stage takes around
will be built, followed by the
a week, with one ring installed tunnel conveyor will be installed,
tailrace tunnel.
each day against a thrust frame to allowing the excavated material to
After the recent official naming gradually push the 11m cutterhead be removed.
10Next up is the assembly of the
second TBM in preparation for
excavation of the cable tunnel.
Over recent weeks, more than
57 oversized loads containing
components of the second TBM
have moved up the mountains
for delivery at Lobs Hole. A police
escort was required for 27 of the
loads – thank you to NSW Police,
Transport for NSW and Lampson
transporters for facilitating the
move, and to local residents JOULE RIDGE
for their patience throughout
deliveries. The TBM main bearing he bulk earthworks to prepare the Joule Ridge 126-bed
T
drive, weighing 165 tonnes, was accommodation facility in Cooma are almost complete. The
the single heaviest component next stage of the project is underway, with the installation of
and needed four prime movers services such as stormwater, sewer, firewater, potable water
(two at the front and two at the and power.
back) to make the trip.
Improvement works by Transport for NSW have been
At Tantangara, the headrace completed at the intersection of Solomon Lane, Monaro
adit portal is largely complete Highway and Yareen Road to improve access to the site. The
and a temporary cofferdam has accommodation modules will begin arriving in late June.
been built to mitigate any risk of
flooding during construction. The his development will house workers on the Snowy 2.0
T
third TBM has started its journey, project working at the Polo Flat segment factory and the
with hundreds of deliveries to the Future Generation Joint Venture office. Accommodation will
Tantangara site throughout late include 90 single rooms and 36 self-contained units.
May and into June.
11PROJECT UPDATE
CONCRETE
SEGMENT FACTORY
Stored segments at Polo Flat SNOWY 2.0 JOBS
P
roduction is well until the automatic carousels More activity means more
underway at Polo Flat, are ready for operation. After positions are opening
with hundreds of huge the mix cures, the segments up across all Snowy 2.0
concrete segments are removed from the mould work fronts. Over 1,000
lined up in the storage and transferred to an outside workers are now involved
yard ready to be transported. storage yard, before being in construction of the
Viewed from above, the loaded onto trucks for the trip massive pumped-hydro
precast segment factory is a to Lobs Hole. project, bringing welcome
telling example of the scale opportunities to the region.
Once onsite, the segments
and complexity of the Snowy Future Generation Joint
will be loaded into the tunnel
2.0 project. Venture is looking to fill
boring machine and used
The Cooma facility is a hive of to line the tunnels, creating more than 150 open roles
activity, with up to 100 workers enormous 10 metre diameter at multiple sites including
onsite producing segments, rings. Nine concrete segments Lobs Hole, Tantangara and
and carrying out final electrical are required to create each Marica for trades people,
and mechanical works for ring, with 14,500 rings needed water treatment plant
commissioning of carousels for the 27 kilometres of power operators, stores people
and the concrete batch plant. waterway tunnels. and labourers. Recruitment
Every day more than 20 is ongoing across all sites
When fully automated, the for engineers and quality
segments emerge from the
Polo Flat facility will produce inspectors, as well as
manual production line, with
4,500 segments – that’s 500 construction supervisors,
output to increase significantly
complete rings – every month. tunnelling supervisors,
as automated components of
With increased truck activity conveyor supervisors and
the facility come online.
transporting the segments, more. Interested applicants
Currently, each segment is cast a temporary traffic signal should head to http://
manually, with the mix poured has been placed in Cooma futuregenerationjv.com.
into large steel moulds directly to ensure traffic flows freely au/job-opportunities-1 for
from the concrete agitator during peak periods. further information.
12Jindabyne students at Young Driver training
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY
Young driver training
E
stablishing positive According to instructors at The students go through
driving behaviour Driving Solutions, who deliver different braking exercises in a
is essential for the training, drivers of all ages controlled and safe environment
everyone’s safety tend to think, ‘it won’t happen to to better understand their
on our roads, me’. The training emphasises that options.
particularly in the Snowy driving is the most dangerous
They also learn how to scan for
Mountains, where drivers face activity most of us will do in
trouble approaching intersections
unique conditions including our day, and to be mindful of
or safety zones, and how to
snow and ice, high speeds the risks.
make smart decisions to limit
and wildlife on the road.
The course also helps build distractions and stay focused
The Snowy Hydro Young Driver confidence in young drivers on the task of driving.
Program is a hands-on course in their ability to handle an
Around 250 students will go
to prepare learner and emergency situation, and to
through the training program in
provisional drivers to better learn how long it takes to stop
2021 as part of Snowy Hydro’s
handle local conditions. The a vehicle.
commitment to the safety and
program also addresses
A common misconception is wellbeing of young people
common myths and any bad
that braking hard can cause a living in the Snowy region.
habits young drivers may have
vehicle to crash or lose control,
picked up from
but instructors explain this is not
their parents.
the case when driving current-
model cars equipped with ABS.
13RETAIL
RED ENERGY
AMBASSADORS
Matt Graham
World champion freestyle Tell us about winning the You recently spent some time in
World Cup title. the Snowy Mountains. What did
skier Matt Graham fell in love you get up to?
with his sport during family Winning the World Cup title has
ski holidays as a child. The always been a goal of mine. It I haven’t been down there in the
is considered one of the major off-season for many years, so it
self-described adrenaline achievements in our sport, so to was great to go on some hikes and
junkie started mogul skiing win it felt amazing! It was such see the mountains. I also spent
at the age of seven. a long and tough season for the some time mountain biking around
team travelling around the world Jindy and enjoying some quality
2020 was a challenging year – during a pandemic so to finish on food and drinks around town. The
how did you adapt your training? top made it all worth it. Main Range walk up Mt Kosciuszko
was probably the highlight!
Once Australia went into lockdown
last April, I purchased some home What’s your focus for 2021?
gym equipment to continue my Will we see you on the ski slopes
2021 is the Olympic lead-up year, in Australia this winter?
strength and conditioning training.
which is always a big year for
During the first half of the year, we
athletes. My focus is to maximise Yes, and I cannot wait! I will likely
were unable to do any skill-based
every training opportunity we can be down in the Snowy Mountains
training so I watched a lot of old
get. I am also studying part-time from mid-July until mid-September.
mogul videos and training footage
this year, which is keeping me
to keep my mind active and in
busy in my off-time.
‘ski-mode’.
Matt Graham in action.
Red Energy is 100% Australian-owned. For more information about its great plans, go to redenergy.com.au or call 131 806
14Lauren Parker is a medal-winning paratriathlete
Lauren Parker
Eleven months after a a run session in my racing chair How are you feeling about the
is about 10-30km. My week also Tokyo Paralympics?
devastating accident ended includes three gym sessions,
her triathlon career, Lauren physio and massage. This question is difficult because
Parker won a Commonwealth I’ve just had the worst and
hardest three weeks I could have
Games bronze medal in How was your sport impacted by imagined. I’ve just spent 16 days
paratriathlon. The world the pandemic? in hospital due to a complication.
champion now has her At the start of 2020 I was ready
I was the fittest and strongest I’d
sights set on the Tokyo ever been before going to hospital
and focused on the 2020
in early April, so it was definitely a
Paralympics. Paralympics. I had prepared my
major setback in my preparation
body and was really on-track.
and threw my plan out. However,
What does a typical training day When the pandemic hit and the
I have overcome far worse, so I’m
look like for you? games were postponed, I felt
choosing to be positive and just
deflated because of all the hard
I train three times a day, with 2-3 get the job done. I only have one
work I had put in. But I also chose
hour sessions and every day is mission for Tokyo and that is to
to look at the positives, and that I
different. My swim sessions are come home with the gold medal!
would be fitter, stronger and faster
between 3-5km. Bike sessions with another year of training for the
are between 30km-100km and 2021 Paralympics.
Red Energy, owned by Snowy Hydro, has a deep connection with Australian skiing and snowboarding
and helps to provide power to most of Australia’s snow resort operations. In NSW, Thredbo powers all its
major resort operations with an agreement with Red Energy for the supply of 100% renewable electricity
to the resort.
Red Energy is 100% Australian-owned. For more information about its great plans, go to redenergy.com.au or call 131 806
15You can also read
