Renewable energy is one of Tasmania's biggest economic opportunities, with the National Electricity Market "screaming" for reliable, affordable power backed by storage.
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That is according to state Energy Minister Guy Barnett, who was buoyed by the latest federal Australian Energy Update, which showed Tasmania was delivering almost a quarter of the nation's renewable energy.
"Coupled with Tasmania's Battery of the Nation pumped hydro plans and the Marinus Link second interconnector, there is potential to create thousands of jobs, attract billions of dollars in investment and generate opportunities for hundreds of local businesses to benefit from a major growth sector," Mr Barnett said.
"Australia leads the world in per capita investment in renewable energy, at almost double the level of second-placed Japan and triple that of France and Germany.
"What's needed to balance that investment is dispatchable (able to be used on demand) generation and storage and Tasmania is part of that solution."
That is where pumped hydro comes in, as it can smooth out the volatility of wind power and solar power, which rely heavily on levels of wind and sunlight.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the update showed renewable energy use nationally had continued to grow strongly.
He said that was largely driven by technology improvements, falling costs and consumer choice.
"Electricity generation from renewables increased 10 per cent in 2017-18, contributing 17 per cent of all generation," Mr Taylor said.
"This upward trend continued in calendar year 2018, with renewable generation increasing to 19 per cent of total generation."
He said the share of renewables was expected to continue to grow strongly in the next few years due to record levels of investment in 2018.
"While renewable energy grew, fossil fuels remain an important part of meeting our energy needs," Mr Taylor said.
"Coal, oil and natural gas provided 94 per cent of Australia's primary energy in 2017-18 and 81 per cent of electricity generation in calendar 2018.
"While the report found we are now using less coal than we used to, coal-fired electricity generation still accounted for 60 per cent of total generation in 2018.
"The challenge in the energy sector is integrating the renewables boom to deliver affordable and reliable power.
"That means keeping our existing generation in, and running at full tilt, and supporting complementary investment in dispatchable generation and storage."
