Pumped Hydro Power Plant
The power station will forever impact our valley, EDF has told residents they will hear the pumps and generators going all day and evening.
French energy giant EDF plans to build a 300MW large-scale pumped hydro power station at a site 50km east of Tamworth. The Dungowan Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) power plant will have a maximum capacity to run for 10 hours, meaning that it has the potential to store up to 3GWh of electricity. The fact that the power station produces such a small amount of energy suggests that this is just the first of multiple power stations to be built in our valley.
We have concerns about the construction phase of this project. EDF says it will take between 3 to 5 years to construct the powerplant. There could be up to 500 labourers living and working on site. That will strain our local infrastructure and environment to breaking point. It threatens our pristine creek and drinking water. Road safety and maintenance are also major concerns. Local wildlife like wombats and kangaroos regularly wander on our roads -
increased traffic will mean increased roadkill. Run-off from the massive construction site could pollute and silt-up the creek.
When it is complete, the power station will continue to impact our valley. There will be increased traffic from workers at the plant. EDF has told residents they will hear the pumps and generators going all day and evening. The site will presumably be floodlit - destroying our glorious night skies for kilometres around. Don't let the Dungowan PHES destroy our peaceful rural and natural landscapes.
There are a whole series of other concerns you can read about on our website, including transmissions lines, water, our environment and dam safety.
It all adds up to one thing: they couldn't have picked a worse spot for pumped hydro!
So how many pumped hydro power stations will eventually be built in our valley?
Over the last decade, a company called Walcha Energy developed the concept of pumped hydro in the Dungowan valley, along with the Ruby Hills wind power station near Walcha and Salisbury solar power station near Uralla. Walcha Energy was originally a joint venture of two companies: Mirus Energy and Energy Estate. In February 2024, the joint venturers sold Walcha Energy to Origin Energy, along with the solar and wind power plant projects.
In a separate deal, EDF purchased the rights to develop the Dungowan PHES project from the joint venturers for $1.8m in late 2023. The project that Walcha Energy sold to EDF included plans for multiple power stations. EDF denies it has plans to build more than one pumped hydro power plant, but it is hard to believe them.
In February 2024, EDF announced to the world that it had acquired this project, and proudly proclaimed that it would co-develop the site with two Australian companies: Mirus Energy and Energy Estate.[1] Note that EDF said "co-develop", not "employ as consultants" or "licence the intellectual property of". Co-develop implies an equal partnership.
As recently as February 2025, the NSW government's EnergyCo was under the impression that the Dungowan pumped hydro scheme is being co-developed by EDF, Mirus Energy and Energy Estate.
Omninously in 2021, Walcha Energy had told the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO):
“Good pumped hydro sites are rare and nowhere near as common as the surveys and some developers claim. The hydrology, access and constructability have to be assessed. At least two substantial developments appear to be viable in the Dungowan area.”
What exactly are EDF, Mirus Energy and Energy Estate's long-term plans for the Dungowan valley? If they get permission to build one power plant, it appears inevitable that more will follow. We say "non merci" to the first of many pumped hydro power stations in the Dungowan valley.
[1] In April 2025, EDF claimed that they are the sole developer and owner of this project, however their media release (quoted above) says otherwise. Even the NSW government agency EnergyCo (see link above) thinks the three developers are partners.