Hydro Tasmania welcomes the Federal Government’s ongoing support of a new Marinus Link interconnector, with funding committed to support reaching an investment decision and a new special purpose body established to oversee the project.

Chief Executive Officer Evangelista Albertini said that the 1500MW Marinus Link is key to unlocking Tasmania’s renewable energy potential and welcomed it moving another step closer.

“Marinus Link is a critical enabler of the Battery of the Nation opportunity. Together, these projects can support the nation’s transition to a clean energy future and help underpin a resilient future national electricity market.

“Marinus Link and the Battery of the Nation projects are also fundamental to Tasmania’s ambitious goal of doubling our renewable energy production and the Federal Government has highlighted the importance of Tasmania’s contribution in its Technology Roadmap,” he said.

“Energy has been the vehicle for transforming the economic prosperity of Tasmania, through the construction of our iconic hydropower schemes over previous generations. From this strong foundation, we can realise a visionary future that will deliver benefits to Tasmania and make a material contribution to Australia’s transition to a clean energy future.

Mr Albertini said it was critical to find the least cost solutions for customers first, then work together to implement these solutions in a way that is fair to all customers.

“This is particularly important for strategic assets such as interconnection where the benefits are expected to be felt widely through the market,” he said.

“The first 750 MW cable of Marinus Link will unlock the latent capacity of our existing hydropower system. We have hundreds of megawatts of currently available capacity that can support and firm increased intermittent renewable energy penetration.

“The second 750MW cable creates the opportunity for us to develop our first Tasmanian pumped hydro project so we can provide more of the cost competitive energy and deep storage that the future market will require.”

Mr Albertini thanked the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for its funding support of Battery of the Nation, which has demonstrated the value of Tasmania’s renewable energy.

Ends.

Released for Hydro Tasmania by Cassandra Leigh / 0409 722 359 / media@hydro.com.au.