Snowy Councils Throw Support behind Snowy 2.0

Published on 17 October 2019

council-news-01.png

The mayors of Snowy Monaro and Snowy Valleys councils today threw their support behind Snowy 2.0 that they said will deliver vital regional jobs, economic benefits, and clean renewable energy.

The Mayors described Snowy 2.0 as an exciting project that the community understands delivers renewable energy which will benefit the environment and generations to come.

They said there would be grave concern in local communities in the area if the project were to be stalled or delayed.

For decades Snowy Hydro and the councils have worked together, with the existing Snowy Scheme operating in Kosciuszko National Park.

“The park is our backyard and critics of the project in their Sydney headquarters probably don’t know the environment and local area like we do,” said Snowy Valleys Mayor James Hayes. “We know that Snowy Hydro will build Snowy 2.0 in a way that avoids and minimises potential impacts.”

“The fact is that the main construction works are happening at Lobs Hole, which is the site of an old, degraded copper mine. Snowy has provided an undertaking, as the consent authority, to manage the rehabilitation of the site.”

When the project’s short-term environmental impacts are considered in the context of supporting the largest renewable energy project in Australia, Snowy 2.0 comes out on top. With the small operational footprint the permanent impacts of the project amount to just 0.01% of the park.

Snowy Monaro Mayor Peter Beer said: “We are very aware that there are some potential impacts to the park, but we also have the vision to see the bigger environmental picture. It’s quite simple, if you want more renewable energy there needs to be massive storage and Snowy 2.0 will provide that.”

Both Mayors agreed that if people were looking for an environmental cause to champion they could take their pick of feral animals and invasive weeds currently damaging the Park.

“We would be very happy to take people out and show them the destruction being caused by feral animals and weeds. We will be lobbying very hard to ensure the project’s environmental offsets is used for park conservation activities that ensure our communities can continue to visit and enjoy the park,” the mayors said.

“We and the whole community are right behind Snowy 2.0. Not only for the clean energy the project brings, but the jobs and opportunities it will continue to create across the region.”  

 

Tagged as: