A high-level report on the national energy market has suggested that Tasmania’s hydroelectricity generation would strengthen the country’s energy security as states moved more towards renewable sources.
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CSIRO and Energy Networks Australia on Friday released its comprehensive Electricity Network Transformation Roadmap which details what needs to be done over the next decade to ensure secure and affordable energy.
It also outlines the paths to decarbonise electricity by 2050.
Energy Networks Australia chief executive John Bradley said Tasmania’s hydro generation could support the national grid’s stability.
He said more interconnection with Tasmania could level out the “ups and downs” associated with the variability of wind and solar energy on the mainland.
“An expansion of pumped hydro capacity, such as the 2500-megawatt project to be evaluated by Hydro Tasmania, would require significant strengthening of interconnection to support eastern Australian energy security,” Mr Bradley said.
CSIRO chief economist of energy, Paul Graham, said residential battery storage could also play a role in boosting the state’s renewable energy capacity.
The report comes on the same day as the Australian Energy Regulator’s determination on TasNetwork charges.
The pricing of distribution charges for the next two years, translated to the overall power bill, means that an average household will save $110 a year.
But like the rest of the country, the state is facing the prospect of massive power price hikes from rocketing wholesale electricity prices from July 1.
The wholesale price rises are linked to issues with energy generation and security in South Australia and the closure of the coal-fired Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria.
Energy Minister Matthew Groom said the government was working on a plan to shield Tasmania from the rises which would be announced next week.
