Hydro Tasmania will be able to better harness and supply clean energy to Tasmania and the nation through a new partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology.   

The strategic relationship agreement, which comes into effect from today, will see the Bureau's expert local meteorologists provide Hydro Tasmania with regular, tailored weather information to support its operations.

Hydro Tasmania CEO Steve Davy said accurate, tailored weather advice was crucial for Tasmania.

“We’re proud to be Australia’s leading clean energy business and largest generator of renewable energy,” Mr Davy said.

“We rely on water to generate electricity so understanding weather conditions, particularly rainfall, is very important for managing our storages.

“Three years ago we experienced the driest spring on record which, coupled with an unprecedented Basslink outage, led to the energy security challenge.

“We’ve learned from that experience. We now know that spring can be drier than previous historical records and we’ve taken steps to protect against extreme weather events and safeguard energy security,” he said.

The benefits of the partnership apply not only to Tasmania – for example, when mainland states and territories are impacted by heatwaves, additional insight regarding national weather conditions will allow Hydro Tasmania to consider how it can best support the national electricity needs returning value to Tasmania.

Under the partnership, the Bureau's climatologists will also provide specific advice around the long-term climate outlook and analysis of historical conditions.

This will complement other research partnerships Hydro Tasmania has with UTAS, Monash University and CSIRO looking at a range of climate impacts including likelihood of extreme drought and flood events occurring more often, future climate conditions in the Tasmanian highlands, effects of orography on local rainfall patterns and developing seasonal to multiyear (5-10 years) forecasts of potential climate outcomes for Tasmania.

The collaboration is another step towards Tasmania’s ambitious plan to become the renewable Battery of the Nation and the Bureau's strategic goal to enhance the impact and value of its services to the Australian community.

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