澳大利亚 Snowy Hydro 水电扩建项目的成本可能高达 250 亿澳元（约合 180 亿美元），约为最初预算的 12 倍，且可能要到本世纪末才能完工，周五发布的一份审查报告显示。
Australia's Snowy Hydro hydropower expansion project could cost as much as A$25 billion ($18 billion), around 12 times its original estimate, and it may not be completed until the end of the decade, a review published on Friday has found.
这一成本激增是该国最大可再生能源项目遭遇的最新挫折，该项目旨在增加 2000 兆瓦的发电容量，以帮助取代燃煤发电。
The cost blowout is the latest setback for the country's biggest renewable energy project, which is designed to add 2,000 megawatts of generation capacity to help replace coal-fired power.
Snowy Hydro 2.0 项目于 2017 年宣布时的初始预算为 20 亿澳元。2019 年开工四年后，成本被上调至 120 亿澳元，完工日期定为 2028 年。
Snowy Hydro 2.0 had an initial budget of A$2 billion when announced in 2017. Four years after construction began in 2019, the cost was raised to A$12 billion with a 2028 completion date.
国有企业 Snowy Hydro 周五发布的审查报告称，该项目现在将耗资至少 222 亿澳元，加上应急储备金，潜在总成本可达 250 亿澳元。
The review published on Friday by government-owned Snowy Hydro said the project would now cost at least A$22.2 billion, with a contingency allowance taking the potential total to A$25 billion.
根据该审查报告，项目预计将于 2029 年底开始运行，机械掘进目前已完成 65%。
The project was also expected to begin operating in late 2029, with machine tunnelling now 65% complete, according to the review.
Snowy 2.0 是对新南威尔士州现有水电计划的扩建，由意大利 Webuild SpA（WBD.MI）领导的财团建设。
Snowy 2.0 is an expansion of an existing hydropower scheme in the state of New South Wales and is being built by a consortium led by Italy's Webuild SpA (WBD.MI).
该装置将在电价低廉时将水抽至上游水库，在电价高昂时放水下泄发电，随着澳大利亚电力供应对间歇性可再生能源的依赖程度加深，这将巩固国家电网。
The installation will pump water uphill into a dam when there is cheap power and release it downhill to generate power when prices are high, shoring up the national grid as Australia's power supply becomes more dependent on intermittent renewable energy.
然而，建设过程饱受一系列挫折困扰，包括隧道掘进过程中的地面塌陷和承包商问题，推高了价格并推迟了完工日期。
Construction, though, has been plagued by a series of setbacks, including a ground collapse during tunnelling and issues with contractors, pushing the price tag higher and the completion date further out.
能源部长 Chris Bowen 和财政部长 Katy Gallagher 在一份联合声明中表示，该项目面临成本上升和“重大地质挑战”，但政府致力于完成该项目。
Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said in a joint statement the project was facing higher costs and "significant geological challenges", but that the government was committed to completing it.
他们在声明中说：“放弃该项目将破坏电网可靠性，取消 5000 个就业岗位，并导致电费上涨。”
"Abandoning the project would undermine grid reliability, scrap 5,000 jobs and lead to higher bills," they said in the statement.
“完工后，雪山水电站的抽水蓄能扩建项目将提供到2050年电网所需总储能容量的一半以上。”
"Once complete, the pumped hydro expansion of the Snowy Scheme will provide more than half of the total energy storage the grid needs by 2050."