Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spruiked Tasmania as a “powerhouse” for renewable energy.
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Mr Morrison toured Tribute Power Station, near Queenstown, with Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and Premier Will Hodgman on Friday.
He said the pumped hydro station offered an “enormous opportunity” as part of the Battery of the Nation project, which would vastly increase Tasmania’s energy output.
“It’s a cracker of a project,” Mr Morrison said.
“This is an enormous opportunity for Tasmania and energy and getting electricity prices down is one of the big focuses of our government.
This is an enormous opportunity for Tasmania
- Scott Morrison
“Tasmania is so well placed...It’s not just a renewable powerhouse which it is, and can be for the country, particularly for south east Australia, but on top of that it’s dispatchable power, it’s fair dinkum power.”
Hydro Tasmania executive officer Steve Davy said the Tribute Power Station project was one of 14 options being considered for increasing the state’s pumped hydro capacity.
Mr Davy said the station had potential to almost double the West Coast’s hydro capacity.
“Coal is retiring, and as new sources of renewable energy like wind and solar are cheap and becoming more plentiful we need to maintain energy reliability, stability and security by investing in dispatchable capacity,” Mr Davy said.
“Pumped hydro will form a huge part of that.”
Premier Will Hodgman said he felt encouraged by his discussions with Mr Morrison about hydro energy.
He said the state’s role as the Battery of the Nation would create thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment.
“This is, in my view, one of the single greatest opportunities for Tasmania,” Mr Hodgman said.
“It will take a lot of work and a lot of work has already been done to understand the opportunities.”
On Friday Mr Morrison also visited a Queenstown business recently switched to the NBN.
He said increased network speeds would be a “shot in the arm” for the region, along with the rollout of the federal government’s mobile blackspot program.
“If you’re coming to Queenstown you’re going to see the difference, you’re going to feel it,” Mr Morrison said.
“Those business are being supported by the services, the infrastructure and the better tax environment.”
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