Scott Morrison pledges $56m for Tasmanian interconnector in climate policy reboot

Scott Morrison has promised to help accelerate the construction of a new interconnector between Tasmania and the mainland, and has signalled the government will back the Snowy 2.0 expansion as part of the Coalition’s climate policy reboot.

Scott Morrison confirmed the Coalition would spend
$56m on a new 1,200MW interconnector for Tasmania. 

The prime minister confirmed on Monday the government would spend $56m in an effort to progress a new 1,200MW interconnector as part of Tasmania’s “battery of the nation” project and he also sent a strong hint he will back Malcolm Turnbull’s pet project, adding 2,000MW of new generation capacity at Snowy Hydro.

The Tasmanian project is a plan to double the state’s renewable energy capacity by developing pumped hydro energy storage, building windfarms and upgrading existing generation assets. Fourteen pumped hydro sites have been earmarked across the state with a combined potential generation capacity of up to 4,800 megawatts.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Scott Morrison pledges $56m for Tasmanian interconnector in climate policy reboot.”