Sydney - Middle East Times Int’l: An initiative to ensure the success of a proposed electricity interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria has been announced. The MarinusLink project, involving the Federal and Tasmanian governments, is set to drive economic growth and reduce energy costs for the Tasmanian and the Australian mainland’s east coast grid. 

The Marinus project is designed to unlock renewable energy generation and storage capabilities through Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation projects, attracting investments and generating employment opportunities within the state.

“This is a game-changing project for both Tasmania and the mainland and this updated agreement will not only deliver the benefits of MarinusLink, it will be cheaper to Tasmanians,” said the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.

Mr Bowen said the MarinusLink project was vital for Tasmania and Australia as it would alleviate rising living costs for Tasmanians and the broader East Coast National Electricity Market (NEM) by providing cleaner and more affordable energy solutions.

Under the new agreement, the Federal and Tasmanian governments have collaboratively amended their initial MarinusLink guidelines. The new agreement includes a focus on one cable initially, an aggressive delivery timeframe, increased Commonwealth equity share, enhanced concessionality of Commonwealth debt financing via the CEFC, and lower project costs.

Importantly, the updated agreement is expected to substantially reduce costs for Tasmanian consumers and that state’s budget, despite material project cost increases over the past ten months.

The latest cost estimates for stage one of MarinusLink range from $3 billion to $3.3 billion, delivering two-thirds of the project’s economic benefits. The Tasmanian Government’s investment is estimated to be $106 million to $117 million.

Updated economic analysis by Marinus Link Pty Ltd indicates that stage one is projected to stimulate the economy by over $2 billion and create more than 2400 jobs, with about 1400 in Tasmania.

Describing the new agreement, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he wanted to thank Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Bowen for “coming to the table and working with us to achieve this outcome.”

Both Tasmania and Victoria stand to gain significantly from the Federal Government’s actions, with increased job opportunities and energy security for Australian manufacturers. Furthermore, the entire National Electricity Market will benefit from the availability of lower-cost renewables and storage.