The prime minister has announced that new funding for energy projects will benefit Australians living in regional Tasmania — also Victoria — in flagging the prospect of more renewable investments in the apple isle. But the project pitches for the state sound very familiar to one made four years ago.
In a statement at the weekend, Scott Morrison said commonwealth money would be put into the Marinus Link electricity interconnector and Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation project.
“Today’s announcement is the result of the strong partnership I share with [Liberal] premier Peter Gutwein and his team, and reflects our shared long term commitment to the Marinus Link and delivering for Tasmania,” Morrison said.
An extra $75 million will be added by the federal government, on top of $66 million already invested, to progress the Marinus Link electricity interconnector through to the planning, design and approvals stage.
The Battery of the Nation projects will see $65 million of federal money spent on upgrade works for the hydropower scheme redevelopment in Tasmania’s central highlands, in Tarraleah.
“More energy in the market means lower prices for everyone,” Morrison said, adding that the projects would generate more jobs for regional Tasmania and Victoria.
According to industry, energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor, the projects will make Tasmania’s electricity grid more reliable. He also criticised the Labor party for failing to back the Underwriting New Generation Investments program, claiming this was because Labor stood for a ‘less reliable grid and higher prices.
But the government’s program (announced at the time of the last federal election in 2018) has been beleaguered for years with delays, with department officials from Industry, Science, Energy and Resources conceding it had taken a long time to ensure applicants under the program would deliver outcomes that stacked up economically.
“In addition to the $140 million in direct support we are providing today, we have also committed to a clear pathway for progressing underwriting of the Tarraleah Battery of the Nation Project through our Underwriting New Generation Investments program,” Taylor said.
Gutwein said Tasmania was a world leader in renewables and that the small island state could already generate 100% of its energy from renewables, with a target to double that output by 2040.
“Through Marinus Link, we will take this to the next level, helping to cut at least 140 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050 – the equivalent of taking around a million cars off the road,” the premier said.
“For Tasmanians and Tasmanian families, it will put downward pressure on electricity prices, helping to ease the cost of living for Tasmanian families into the future,” he added.
Energy and emissions reductions minister Guy Barnett said the funding would support ‘nationally significant infrastructure’, as well as boosting the energy supply and storage capacity of Tasmania. The Marinus Link project alone was expected to add another 1,400 new direct and indirect local jobs, as well as a further 1,400 in Victoria, he said.
“Complementary to our green hydrogen plans, this will deliver the confidence in our renewable energy future that investors have been looking for, unlocking a further pipeline of projects in Tasmania,” Barnett said.
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