What will renewable energy jobs look like on the Cradle Coast? A report earlier this year by the Clean Energy Council and Institute for Sustainable Futures looked at part of the renewable energy workforce including direct jobs (development, construction/ installation, operation, maintenance, manufacturing) and some indirect jobs (transport, warehousing). The study did not include induced jobs (e.g. expenditure of construction workers in regional towns) or areas such as electricity networks [...]

The Future Energy hub is proud to have contributed to "The Future for Renewable Energy Opportunities for Tasmania", published by Regional Development Australia Tasmania. The report includes some interesting insights into Tasmania’s potential energy future, examines the benefits for regional Tasmania, and discusses possible funding models for the critical enabling infrastructure: Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation. You can find the report here

TasNetworks held drop-in sessions yesterday and today at the Future Energy Hub to discuss the revised route for the Staverton to Hampshire Hills section of the North West Transmission Developments. A detailed, large scale map is available here (*note - map is very high resolution and may be slow to load). TasNetworks are asking for feedback for their Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, which is open until the 2nd of [...]

23 expressions of Interest have been received for the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Industry Development Funding Program. Applications closed on the 18th of August. Applicants were invited to submit expressions of interest for projects and feasibility studies related to renewable hydrogen production, storage, distribution, export and domestic use within Tasmania. Burnie is identified in the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan as a potential hydrogen production hub. #cradlecoastgoodenergy #hereforgood The applications received [...]

Two of Tasmania's wind farms are leading the nation in trialing innovative technology to reduce the risk of collisions with wedge-tailed eagles. Musselroe Wind Farm is undertaking an Australian first trial of ‘Max’ radar technology, developed by Dutch company Robin Radars. It provides full 3D coverage from the horizon, up to one kilometre in height, and can automatically detect and log hundreds of birds simultaneously and can initiate the shutdown [...]

New data from the Clean Energy Council has revealed that the number of committed large-scale renewable energy projects nationally is at its lowest level since 2017, and just three projects reached final close in the second quarter of 2020. Investments in the electricity transmission network have not kept pace with the rapid deployment of wind and solar farms. “AEMO’s 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP) has delivered a clear roadmap for [...]

With Tasmania's electricity supply almost at 100% renewable generation, the next big challenge for our state's energy transition is in transport and industry. Replacing imported fossil fuels such as natural gas and diesel with Tasmanian generated renewable energy will increase our self sufficiency and create economic opportunities. The decarbonisation of some transport (road freight, aviation and shipping) and industry (chemicals, cement, minerals and metal processing) sectors will be very challenging [...]

Coal fired power stations across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria are scheduled to be retired over the next 20 years. Many of these individual power stations, such as Eraring (2800 MW) and Liddell (2000 MW) are comparable in size to Hydro Tasmania's entire hydro generation (2500 MW). Australia's power consumption will increasingly be met by wind, solar and storage, constructed across widely dispersed Renewable Energy Zones. Large amounts of [...]

Upgrades to the existing North West Tasmanian transmission network, along with potential new routes, will be required to increase network capacity and ensure the power system can accommodate development proposed in the North West Tasmania high priority Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), including solar, wind and pumped hydro. The final routes and location of supporting infrastructure will be further defined as the design and approvals process progresses, and is considered for [...]