The energy minister concedes that the Snowy 2.0 project is problematic, but says it will not be canned. 

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen has acknowledged that he is unhappy with the ongoing problems, delays, and cost overruns associated with the Snowy 2.0 project. 

Australia's Snowy 2.0 project is a major expansion of the existing Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, which is a hydroelectricity generation and water storage system located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. 

Snowy 2.0 involves the construction of a new underground power station and the installation of pumped hydro storage to provide renewable energy storage and generation capacity. 

The project is designed to provide an additional 2,000 megawatts of energy storage and 350 megawatts of generation capacity to the National Electricity Market.

The project was already running 12-18 months behind schedule when the new Federal Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, came to his post in May 2021. 

The project has also gone significantly over budget, with potential additional costs of $2.2 billion, bringing the total cost to $5.8 billion. 

However, Mr Bowen says he remains committed to seeing the project through to completion, despite calls from some critics to abandon it. 

Mr Bowen says that the project is important for the stability of Australia's grid, and is working closely with Snowy management to address the ongoing issues. 

The new CEO, Dennis Barnes, has been tasked with getting the project back on track, and Mr Bowen says he is hopeful that a fresh approach will lead to a solution.