Australia’s original transmission infrastructure, built decades ago, was brilliantly simple. Major (mostly coal-fired) generators were connected to major load centers (such as large industrial manufacturers), and everyone else just plugged in along the way. The generator knew what it was generating, and the load center knew what it was consuming. If there was an interruption at either end, the generator and load center would work out what adjustments each should [...]

A few months ago, the Future Energy Hub compared the size of the proposed Lake Cethana pumped hydro energy storage project (PHES) to the size of Tesla Powerwall 2’s home-scale batteries. Feasibility work at Lake Cethana has now showed that the initial design option of 600MW and 11 hours can be scaled up to 750MW and up to 20 hours' deep storage duration - so it's time to update the [...]

Late last year, Lake Cethana was selected by Hydro Tasmania as the first potential site for pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) to take through to final design and approvals. Lake Cethana is part of the Mersey-Forth run-of-river catchment system, where water flows from rivers, cascading through a series of power stations, using the same water to generate energy multiple times. Environmental, social, geological and a range of other studies are [...]

Marinus Link is currently in the "design and approvals" stage, with a Final Investment Decision due in 2023-24. Selecting the preferred route for Marinus Link involved considering a number of prudent and feasible alternative corridors. Although co-locating with the existing Bass Link cable from George Town would have some advantages, it would not meet a key objective of Marinus Link, which is to increase energy security. The risk of an [...]

There are still a few places left for the workshops being held this weekend at Preston (Saturday, 1:00 pm) and Wilmot (Sunday, 1:00 pm) to understand community views about the potential positive and negative impacts the transmission line will have. Registrations close on the 18th of March. Discussions will focus on local jobs and business opportunities, the natural environment, the local tourism industry, visual impacts and community safety. Community feedback [...]

Recently, community information days were held at Bothwell and Miena to update the community and answer questions about the new layout for the proposed St Patricks Plains Wind Farm. You can keep up to date with the latest news about the project, and view the presentation from the information sessions here

Today is World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development. Engineers and engineering are crucial to address the risks of climate change and to ensure sustainable development. Engineers are essential for resilience to climate change and to design and develop resilient infrastructure that will withstand the increasing weather related events – floods, cyclones and bush fires. In support of our sustainable future, the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Tasmanian Climate Change Office [...]

Infrastructure Australia has released the Infrastructure Priority List 2021, the comprehensive investment roadmap for Australia. Again, Marinus Link has been placed as a ‘High Priority Initiative’. Two other exciting projects are located in the Cradle Coast region. The new inner-city state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities under construction in Burnie under the Priority Project "University of Tasmania: Northern Transformation Program", and the Priority Initiative "Infrastructure capacity for large vessels at Burnie [...]

Project Marinus have released their Marinus Link Route Options Report. This report builds on the Proposed Route Overview report released late last year. The proposed route is between Heybridge, just east of Burnie in the Cradle Coast, and Victoria's Latrobe Valley, at or near Hazelwood. At Heybridge, the proposed route travels underneath the shore to make a direct connection to the proposed Heybridge converter station site, at the "old [...]

The following article appeared in the latest "Choose Cradle Coast" newsletter:BUILDING A GLOBAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CAREER WITHOUT LEAVING TASMANIABefore 2020, working for a stint overseas was something many of us aspired to. As well as the adventure and experience of living in a new culture, the skills, knowledge and experience we gained could boost our future job prospects, or kick-start embarking on a new career altogether. The opportunity to work [...]