Guy Barnett, Minister for Energy and Renewables,
The Tasmanian Government has a strong energy plan which will deliver a clean energy highway, help reduce emissions, deliver reliable and affordable energy for consumers, and bolster Tasmania’s economy through new jobs and investment.
As part of the 2022-23 Budget, the Rockliff Liberal Government is investing $800,000 over two years to implement the actions of the recently released Tasmanian Renewable Energy Coordination Framework.
The Framework prioritises the actions necessary to coordinate the large-scale development and investment required to grow our renewable energy sector sustainably over the next 20 years and reach our 2040 Tasmanian Renewable Energy Target (TRET) of 200 per cent renewable electricity.
To support further on-island energy demand and facilitate opportunities such as green hydrogen and green manufacturing, next week Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT) will launch a Register of Interest (ROI) process for new renewable energy and energy intensive load projects.
The ROI is one of the key actions under the Renewable Energy Coordination Framework, and the information provided by industry will be integral to building on the existing, high level Renewable Energy Zones already identified by the Australian Energy Market Operator as having excellent resource potential in Tasmania, by building out and operationalising Tasmania’s first REZ to be announced later this year.
The ROI will be open to proponents of projects over 10MW and will seek key project information to support the coordination of generation with transmission and storage investment.
ReCFIT will use information provided through the ROI to align the TRET with the market for renewable energy project development in Tasmania, and support load growth through the development of a comprehensive profile of the project pipeline for the State. This will guide decisions about the optimal location and size of Tasmania’s first REZ.
We are also taking action to progress major energy projects such as Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation that will help further grow the supply of clean, reliable and affordable energy.
Marinus Link will also significantly increase the telecommunications capacity and capabilities for Tasmania through the optic fibre assets that it will carry between Tasmania and Victoria.
The development of Marinus Link and the North West Transmission Developments will inject $1.5 billion dollars into the Tasmanian economy, with hundreds of jobs, and reduce emissions by 140 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050.
Marinus Link has now completed its tender pre-qualification process for the design, manufacture, and installation of its high voltage direct current cables and converter stations. This is an important step in the project to provide more certainty around the supply of key project components in light of ongoing challenges to international supply chains from COVID 19 and the war in Ukraine.
We are working with the new Australian Government to deliver on the historic agreement we signed with the former Australian Government in April this year to deliver Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation projects. A final investment decision on Marinus Link is expected in December 2024.
