Marinus on the grid by 2028, says TasNetworks
A second Bass Strait electricity interconnector between Tasmania and the mainland will ease supply pressures, its owner says.
A second Bass Strait electricity interconnector worth $3.5bn between Tasmania and mainland Australia will help unlock up to 1500 megawatts of electricity to the national market and ease supply pressures as coal plans exit the grid, owner TasNetworks said.
About 750MW, or half the capacity of the Marinus Link project could be operating by 2028 with the full load online between 2030 and 2032 depending on a set of investment scenarios, according to a business case assessment to be released on Thursday by TasNetworks and the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
“By 2035 at least 12,000MW of coal-fired generation is forecast to retire in the National Electricity Market. Replacing this will require a combination of resources, including variable renewable generation, storage and dispatchable ‘on demand’ generation,” TasNetworks said.
The Marinus Link plan and supporting transmission would unlock $5.7bn of broader economic value to the Tasmanian economy through renewable energy developments, including new wind farms and pumped hydro energy storage enabled by the extra capacity link to Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
Financiers including the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation are expected to contribute some of the funding and help ensure the project is delivered on time after the government boosted its funding and mandate to include transmission upgrades. TasNetworks said a range of ownership, funding and commercial options are open to the project.
“Further government infrastructure contributions to underwrite the project, such as those recently announced to support timely development of the Queensland to NSW interconnector upgrade, can also ensure that the national benefits from Marinus Link and supporting transmission are delivered in a timely way.”
The Energy Security Board will consider new pricing arrangements for interconnectors after the issue was raised at November’s Council of Australian Governments meeting.
The existing BassLink interconnector can supply about 500MW of power to the mainland.