The Snowy 2.0 project, being built by a consortium led by Italy's Webuild SpA, will add 2,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity, pumping water uphill into a dam when there is cheap power and releasing the water downhill to generate power when prices are high.

The aim is to shore up the grid when solar and wind power supplies are low as Australia's power supply becomes more dependent on intermittent renewable energy.