Portfolio

Sunshine Hydro is developing a portfolio of Superhybrids which are a class of green assets incorporating existing technologies of pumped hydro and hydrogen/methanol production.

Sunshine Hydro adopts a portfolio building approach to growth.

Sunshine Hydro’s assets are Superhybrid projects. Similar to building any portfolio of assets, Sunshine Hydro will assess the optimum manner in which to maximise returns per project given the nature of the project, the planning and development required, the potential value we can add to the project, operational circumstances, project time frames and funding requirements over time. As with all portfolio management strategies, divesting assets in some instances is a common and sound practice where it aligns with a portfolio’s growth strategy.

Consulting & Partnerships

Sunshine Hydro has developed software to simulate a Superhybrid as though it is trading live in an electricity market. It has been used in the Australian electricity market and can simulate multiple years of operation using actual historical records of wind and solar generation of particular plants as input data, at 5 minute granularity. AESOP can be adapted to other energy-only electricity markets.

Current Projects

Sunshine Hydro is progressing project development activities and intends to expand these activities. In the energy industry, ‘project development’ designates the phase from concept to financial close. It entails bringing together the following:

Land acquisition
Consultation with the local community and First Nations representatives.
Geotechnical and environmental investigation.
Securing all relevant approvals; planning, environmental, electricity generation, project registration, water access.
Procuring and entering into key commercial contracts for the supply of energy to the project and offtake arrangements for the energy products generated by the project.
Procuring and entering into key commercial contracts to engineer, procure, construct, operate and maintain the asset.
Securing equity and debt finance.

Djandori Gung-i Project

This is a greenfield project of 600 MW Hydro, 300 MW hydrogen, 220 MW firm green energy and 11,000 MWh hydro energy storage. This project is located in central Queensland close to port, rail, highway, strong transmission lines and close to load. It is within the Central Queensland REZ (renewable energy zone) and close to Gladstone and may become a key participant in the Gladstone Hydrogen Cluster. Water availability for hydro operating water and hydrogen production water is assured by a combination of various sources. Natural inflow in the local catchment is able to provide the bulk of the water needed each year, with backup regional water supplies and desalination from the nearby coast. This project will provide an improvement in the security of over 2,500 Ha of habitat, and add significant value to the traditional owners of the land and the local community.

Djandori Gung-i Project and Community Impact
Sunshine Hydro has engaged with traditional owners and with the peak body for community natural resource management. Sunshine Hydro will continue to partner with these and other groups as this project evolves in order to deliver local jobs and resource protection to the community and will include community input during design and construction.

Please visit our dedicated Djandori Gung-i (Flavian) Superhybrid Project site.

Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Projects

This pair of projects are located near each other and close to high voltage transmission lines. The majority of land required for both projects is crown land under the control of the Victorian government. Water scarcity is an issue which requires careful assessment. These projects could add significant reliability and security for both Victoria and NSW and so should be considered critical infrastructure projects.

Eucalypt Project

Eucalypt is a medium-sized Superhybrid project with a pumped hydro element of about 500 to 600 MW matched with a 250 MW electrolyser and able to provide firm green energy of 200 MW on a continuous basis. It is located close to a strong electricity transmission hub and nearby to a perennial river which has a reliable supply even during severe droughts.

Jupiter Project

Jupiter is a relatively small scale pumped hydro project at 300 MW and with short tunnel lengths it offers a short construction time. It has no obvious impediments in relation to planning and environmental considerations and we expect it will have a very favourably short approval and construction timeline. It has the prospect of being the fastest to market. Land acquisition is close to finalisation. It is located in one of the highest rainfall zones of the Murray Darling Basin and it is intended to use recycled water from local sewage treatment plants as feed water for hydrogen production and evaporation top-up water. The project has major highway and rail access which makes it a suitable place for hydrogen delivery logistics.

Cygnus Project

This is a third party owned project and we are in discussions with the owner and operator. If negotiations are successful this project will serve as a useful promotional site.

Opera Project

Similar to the Flavian project, Opera has particular contemporary relevance because of the recent failure of Unit 3 at Callide C power station. Callide B Power Station is the first to close in Queensland and is slated for shut down commencing 2028. This timing matches very closely with the expected commissioning for the Opera project. Callide B has a capacity of 700 MW and Opera has an expected capacity of 600 MW, so is a reasonable replacement size. The land has yet to be secured for this project.