Australia’s largest renewable energy project has received the seal of approval from an international tunnelling giant and Germany’s top diplomat in Australia.

Tunnelling pioneer Martin Herrenknecht and German ambassador Beate Grzeski recently enjoyed a quintessentially classic Australian flat white at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma and toured the Snowy 2.0 Marica worksite, outside Kiandra.

Dr Herrenknecht is touring major tunnelling projects across Australia and New Zealand with a special focus on Snowy 2.0’s fourth tunnel boring machine (TBM), known as Monica.

The world’s pre-eminent TBM manufacturer says Monica is among the most complex machines the company has engineered worldwide.

Mrs Grzeski said the connection between Australia and Germany extended beyond modern machinery.

“Australia wants to become a renewable energy superpower and this project is a big part of those ambitions,” she said.

“There’s actually quite a strong link between Germany and the Snowy.

“Lots of Germans worked on the original scheme and now we’ve got Herrenknecht TBMs that are part of that story,” the Snowy,” he said.

For Dr Herrenknecht, the size and scale of Snowy 2.0 continues to resonate on the global stage.

“I’m always quite impressed when I come to

“It’s a great project, lots of people talk about Snowy 2.0 internationally.

“It’s a green energy project that’s quite great and one I’m quite proud to be part of.

This article appeared in Corryong Courier, 29 January 2026.