The Carroll Labor Government is backing more jobs in the Latrobe Valley and more reliable, affordable power, with construction set to begin on Marinus Link’s Victorian converter station.
The Hazelwood North station will connect Victoria to Tasmania’s hydro and wind power, helping keep the lights on and bringing down bills for Victorian families.
Stage 1 will deliver a 750-megawatt electricity connection between the two states, supporting around 1,000 Victorian jobs annually and generating around $1 billion in economic activity.
More than half the construction workforce is expected to come from the local area.
Sixteen Victorian businesses are already helping deliver the project, including six from Gippsland.
Marinus Link will run beneath Bass Strait for around 255 kilometres, with another 90 kilometres of underground cable in Victoria.
Converter stations at Hazelwood North and Heybridge in Tasmania will allow electricity to flow in both directions, sharing renewable power when and where it is needed.
In an Australian first, the Victorian station will use advanced grid-forming technology from Hitachi Energy to help keep the electricity network stable.
The station will connect to existing infrastructure at Hazelwood North, linking Marinus to Victoria’s electricity network and the National Electricity Market.
Jointly owned by the Commonwealth, Victorian and Tasmanian governments, Marinus Link will deliver more renewable power and more jobs for Gippsland workers.
The project builds on Labor’s record investment in renewables, which has helped Victoria consistently achieve the lowest wholesale electricity prices in the country.
One Nation opposes Marinus Link – its Coalition with Jess Wilson’s Liberals would rip up regional jobs and cheap renewable power for expensive and toxic nuclear energy in Gippsland, without saying where the waste would go.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy and Resources Jaclyn Symes
“The Latrobe Valley has powered Victoria for generations – and we’re backing local workers to keep doing it, with more jobs, more investment and more renewable energy.”
“Our record investment in renewables is delivering the lowest wholesale power prices in the country. Marinus Link will connect us to more cheap renewable power to help keep bills down and the lights on.”
“Jess Wilson’s Liberal-One Nation Coalition would rip jobs and wages out of Gippsland and make families pay for expensive nuclear power – but won’t tell regional communities where they’d dump the toxic waste.”