Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Not only will the $1 billion Grid Reliability Fund ensure that our nation's world-leading deployment of renewables is integrated and backed up, but this legislation, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Amendment (Grid Reliability Fund) Bill 2020, is a vote for jobs, for Australian workers, for lower emissions, for a more reliable and secure energy market, and for lower prices for consumers. Tasmania is, of course, no stranger to reliable renewable power, and the Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation renewable pumped hydro projects are perfect examples of what the $1 billion GRF could support while providing an opportunity for the rest of Australia.

Marinus Link will provide a second Bass interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria that will increase energy exchange throughout the National Electricity Market as Australia continues to transition to cleaner energy. The project has also been assessed to be commercially viable and could deliver a $1 billion boost to Tasmania's economy through construction and operation. What an incredible opportunity for our state as we look to invest in technologies to create a cleaner, sustainable energy market which will also benefit mainland energy users!

Battery of the Nation is a Hydro Tasmania project that's investing in and building our island's capacity as a hydro battery. It's about making better use of existing hydro power and power stations while enhancing our ability to support the National Electricity Market with new infrastructure like pumped hydro power stations. This will ensure a safe, reliable, low-cost energy supply for all Tasmanians and thousands of megawatts of clean power to the mainland for a sustainable future we can all enjoy.

In December, I was thrilled to welcome the Prime Minister and the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, to Launceston at the site of the Trevallyn Power Station to sign a memorandum of understanding between the state and federal governments for these projects. Under the signing of this bilateral energy and emissions reduction agreement, both governments have committed to further support to progress Battery of the Nation and Marinus.

The MOU also delivered a jointly owned special purpose vehicle being established by 1 July 2021 to deliver the remainder of the design and approvals phase for project Marinus. The SPV will provide the governance and oversight to guide the project to a final investment decision in 2023-24. As TasNetworks CEO, Lance Balcombe, said on the day:

The MOU announcement further confirms the value of Project Marinus as critical to supporting a rapidly transforming National Electricity Market … by delivering low-cost, reliable and clean energy to electricity customers.

Indeed, as Australia recovers from COVID-19, affordable, reliable power will be critical to growing the economy and creating new jobs, and it's important to note that, when new technologies become economically competitive, households and businesses will readily adopt them, which is what we're seeing firsthand with renewables currently.

Some facts that are worth considering: on an energy-only basis, costs have fallen rapidly, and we've seen $30 billion invested in renewable energy since 2017. Australia is now deploying new wind and solar 10 times faster per person than the global average and four times faster per person than Europe, China, Japan or the US. About two million, or nearly one in four, Australian households now have solar power. In 2019, the share of wind and solar in Australia's electricity grids was more than double the global average and projected to rise rapidly in coming years. Of course, with these positive changes come new challenges, and, while there is no shortage of investment in clean energy, the government has identified a lack of investment in the dispatchable generation needed to support the increase of intermittent generation. We need more flexible back-up generation and storage, gas, pumped hydro and batteries to balance and integrate high shares of renewable energy, which is why our technology focused approach and the GRF are so practical. Importantly, our practical approach won't undermine energy affordability or reliability as we recover from COVID-19.

Beyond the GRF, the government has also been laying down the groundwork to develop a leading hydrogen industry in Australia. Part of this commitment to hydrogen includes the establishment of a regional hydrogen export hub supported by $70 million in Commonwealth funding. I'm extremely pleased that Bell Bay, just 20 minutes from my home, has been identified as a possible hub. Additionally, four major energy companies are currently investigating the region for large-scale green hydrogen production facilities, a step which has been significantly helped due to federal and state government funding for research into making the Australian production process more cost competitive.

The investment and focus on green hydrogen are also widely supported by our region's business community, which I saw firsthand when I attended an event hosted by the Launceston Chamber of Commerce towards the end of last year. This sold-out event was attended by a significant number of industry and business leaders who overwhelmingly support the proposal to establish Bell Bay as a regional hydrogen hub. The process for selection as a hub is very competitive, but I have no doubt our region will have what it takes.

I was also thrilled to learn recently that the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone, a local industry group committed to ensuring that the region, as Tasmania's premier centre of manufacturing and export, can remain globally competitive, received a $100,000 grant from the national Energy Resources of Australia for research into the latest green hydrogen technology. This funding was matched by the Tasmanian government, who also recognised the importance of investing in this emergent industry. BBAMZ was one of 13 clusters to share in this funding as part of the National Hydrogen Strategy and the only one in Tasmania. As CEO, Susie Bower, said: 'At the moment it's $7 per kilogram for hydrogen, but, if we want to be competitive, we have to get it around $1 to $2 a kilo. The only way to do that is through improved technology, so getting this funding and starting a technology cluster is the first step in bringing all of our smart people together to look at what advances in technology there are to bring that cost of production down.' The government is committed to paving the way for a stronger, cheaper, cleaner and more competitive energy market, a plan which should be supported by all sides.

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