Snowy Hydro 2.0 has blown out to 12 times its original cost – but the CEO says it ‘could have been worse’

Work has begun on a new underground power station as part of the now $25bn Snowy Hydro 2.0 but the project is still almost a decade behind schedule. Photograph: Snowy Hydro

The cost of Snowy Hydro 2.0 has blown out to as much as $25bn, with a major reassessment finding the long-delayed renewable energy project will not be completed until the end of the decade.

First touted by the Turnbull government in 2017 with a price tag of $2bn, the cost of the project in the Kosciuszko national park has increased dramatically over time. In 2023 it was revised to almost $13bn, with construction due to completed by the end of 2028.