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The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister, Australia (2015-2018), and Co-Chair of the International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower, will be a keynote speaker at the Waterpower Week in Washington policy conference on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. ET. The conference, owned and operated by the National Hydropower Association, runs May 8 – 10, 2023, at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C.
Waterpower Week in D.C. attracts speakers with a wide-array of backgrounds and expertise in a variety of subjects. From current U.S. Senators to hydropower industry leaders, Waterpower Week’s full line up of speakers is available here.
Turnbull is a returning speaker to Waterpower Week in Washington, where he addressed attendees in 2022 about the importance of pumped storage hydropower. During the session, Turnbull identified critical steps the world must take in order to achieve our shared energy goals, saying:
“We have the renewables to generate unlimited power, but it is intermittent. To make it more reliable we need long duration storage and the best solution to that end is pumped storage.”
During Waterpower Week’s “Pumped Storage” plenary session, Turnbull will draw on decades of experience in renewable energy development to offer attendees insight into the state of global pumped storage developments.
At Waterpower Week in Washington 2022 – from left to right: IHA Climate Policy Manager Debbie Gray, Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, President and CEO of the National Hydropower Association Malcolm Woolf and IHA CEO Eddie Rich.
BACKGROUND
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Turnbull attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship; later, he returned to Australia to practice law. After a career defined by work in the media and technology sectors of investment banking, he entered the Australian Parliament in 2004.
Initially, Turnbull served as Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, then Minister of Communications, and as Prime Minister from 2015 – 2018.
While prime minister, Turnbull’s tenure was defined by an economic growth agenda that led to record job creation. Tapping into his interest with energy issues and renewables, Turnbull recognized the need for large-scale storage to ensure the reliability of intermittent resources.
Out of this passion, he began the construction of Australia’s Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped storage scheme, which will be a 2,000 MW scheme linking two large dams, Tantangra and Talbingo. It will create the ability to run for 7 ½ days without repumping; storing 350 GWh of electricity.
Since leaving politics, Turnbull has resumed his career, joining the International Hydropower Association as a Board member and the International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower as Co-Chair. Currently, Turnbull represents the importance of pumped storage hydropower and renewable energy on the global stage.
