Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's my pleasure to update the House on an exciting project that's taking place in Grassy Harbour on King Island. Thanks to a collaboration between the Morrison government, Wave Swell Energy Limited, motivated investors, the King Island Council and dozens of local businesses across Tasmania, about 1,000 tonnes of cutting-edge wave energy technology is currently being deployed and tested. Funding through the Morrison government's Australian Renewable Energy Agency provides this crucial data from the $4 million investment which is set to inform us about the potential of wave energy and how it becomes a significant contributor to global needs for clean, emission-free electricity.

The trial at Grassy Harbour works like an artificial blowhole. There's a big underwater chamber that's open at the front, and as water passes into the open chamber it forces a turbine and consequently generates electricity—clean, green, renewable electricity. Research estimates that wave technology energy has the potential to contribute up to 11 per cent of the nation's energy by 2050. That's equivalent to the energy needs of the city of Melbourne. Once operational next month, this trial could potentially make King Island a global leader, with power generation that operates from three different types of renewable energy: wind, solar and wave.

This is incredibly exciting for me, for King Island and for Tasmania more broadly. It was only a couple of months ago that we reached our target of being 100 per cent powered by renewable energy in Tasmania. We've reached this benchmark two years ahead of schedule, and this project will play an important part in moving Tasmania forward towards its 200 per cent renewable generation goal by 2040. The eyes of the world will be watching closely, and rightly so. Tasmania is way out in front when it comes to emission reduction and playing its part in the development of new, practical technologies that will reduce emissions globally.

Of course, projects such as this could not happen without the support of our great businesses. Our small businesses, our manufacturers and in this case over 20 local businesses based in the north-west of Tasmania were contributors to the project. I know that Wave Swell Energy has sung the praises of everyone involved, the quality of the workmanship, the enthusiasm for the project and their genuine desire to get the job done during what has been an incredibly trying past 12 months. Projects like these have flow-on benefits, with flights, accommodation, vehicle purchase and hire, general supplies and retail purchases further boosting our economy and our region. I'll be on King Island early next month and am looking forward to seeing the project, climbing onboard and seeing how it's generating clean, green, renewable energy for the great island of King Island.