# Capture — three million homes for a week

- **Claim filed:** “providing enough renewable energy and storage to power three million homes for a week.”
- **Who:** Chris Bowen and Katy Gallagher, 31 August 2023
- **URL:** https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/31/snowy-hydro-2-project-scheme-billion-cost-blowout-kosciuszko-national-park
- **Date on page:** 31 August 2023
- **Publisher:** The Guardian
- **Title:** Snowy Hydro 2.0 costs blowout confirmed to be almost $13bn
- **Captured:** 2026-08-14
- **Method:** saved HTML (`guardian-2023-08-31.html`)

## Verbatim (Guardian, quoting the ministers’ statement)

> Snowy 2.0 is a critical project to Australia’s energy future – providing enough renewable energy and storage to power three million homes for a week.

Guardian same day: generating capacity revised 10% higher to 2.2 GW. HumeLink (~$5bn) excluded; “that tab will be picked up by NSW consumers.” AEMO’s then market update had a 2029 completion.

## Snowy Hydro’s own page

`snowy-about.html`  
https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/snowy-20/about/  
captured 2026-08-14

> Snowy 2.0’s 2,200 megawatt (MW) capacity will deliver enough energy to power 3 million homes for a week, equivalent to about 26 million home batteries.

> The Australian Energy Market Operator predicts the National Electricity Market (NEM) requires around 649 gigawatt hours (GWh) of dispatchable energy storage to reach net zero by 2050, Snowy 2.0 alone will provide more than half, providing the grid with an incredible 350GWh energy storage.

> When complete at the end of 2028… keep the lights on… lowest-cost energy system

## Still the line in 2026

Bowen’s office, ABC 18 June 2026 — `abc-2026-06-18.html`

> Once working it will provide crucial storage to support 6.6 GW of low cost renewable generation, enough to power 3 million homes per week, boosting reliability and putting downward pressure on prices across the National Energy Market

## The other meter

2017 house-count was 500,000 on 2,000 MW. The week / 350 GWh was already in the March 2017 pitch. 2023 kept the tank and multiplied the houses.

ABC 3 June 2026 — `abc-2026-06-03.html` — Ted Woodley:

> Theoretically, yes, it can produce for a week, but in practical terms it probably never will.

Refill “weeks or months” when prices are low enough. One engineer, not a campaign. The slogan does not mention a refill.

## What this file does not do

It does not file “storage is a con.” It files a house-count that grew while the tank stayed ~350 GWh.