Tasmania’s dreams of becoming the “battery of the nation’ have received a federal funding boost, with the federal government promising monies for a proposed pumped hydro project and the Marinus Link sub sea link to Victoria.
Prime minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday – just days before an election is expected to be called – that the federal government would tip a further $65 million into the development of the Tarraleah hydroelectric upgrade project.
Hydro Tasmania will also contribute $123 million on assessing the commercial viability of the redevelopment of the Tarraleah site, and to undertake upgrade works at the site ahead of the project.
The Tarraleah scheme involves a collection of existing connected ‘run of river’ dams and generator projects, including the 90MW Tarraleah power station and the 12MW Butlers Gorge generator, that runs parallel with the Nive and Derwent Rivers.
Proposed upgrades include the construction of a new 113MW hydroelectric generator on the Nive River, along with the refurbishment of the existing Tarraleah generator, while also replacing some of the smaller generators in the scheme.
Hydro Tasmania’s acting CEO Ian Brooksbank said the upgrade of the Tarraleah project would help boost the amount of renewable energy generation in Tasmania, while also allowing existing infrastructure at the site to be renewed.
“The scheme has served Tasmania well for decades, but it is ageing and in need of significant investment to ensure its safe and reliable operation well into the future,” Brooksbank said.
“We know that the future market will need renewable energy sources that can respond quickly to changes in demand. This is an opportunity to future proof the Tarraleah scheme and optimise it for a bigger role in Australia’s clean energy transition.”
The funding support coincides with an additional commitment of $75 million to fund the development of the Marinus Link interconnector between Tasmania and the Australian mainland.
The ‘battery of the nation’ vision – which would see Tasmania act as a source of dispatchable power for mainland Australia – is dependent on the successful development of the Marinus Link interconnector.
But the project is being heavily contested. Analysis published by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre suggests that the construction of the Marinus Link interconnector could be rendered obsolete by the development of new energy storage projects in Victoria.
Morrison announced the funding for the two projects from Tasmania at a joint press conference with Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein.
“This is a significant agreement for a clean energy highway, helping to reduce emissions, deliver reliable and affordable energy for consumers, and strengthen Tasmania’s economy through new jobs and investment,” Gutwein said.
“Tasmania is already a world-leader in renewable energy. We can already generate 100 per cent of our energy from renewables with a target to double that by 2040.”
Morrison said money to underwrite the ‘Battery of the Nation’ project would use the stalled Underwriting New Generation Investments scheme, but that depends on a fund that has not yet been created.
The Morrison government had promised to invest up to $1 billion in new electricity infrastructure projects, using the promised Grid Reliability Fund.
That fund, despite first being announced in 2019, has not yet been established, as the Morrison Government has not been able to successfully pass necessary legislative amendments through parliament.
