Investing in Tasmania. All you need to know.

Tasmania is geared to become the global leader in renewable energy

With 90 per cent of Tasmania’s energy derived from renewable sources such as hydro and wind, Tasmania has a world-class sustainable renewable energy base.

Tasmania has had a long history and active role in the development and use of renewable energy and we currently produce more than 50 per cent of the nation’s clean, renewable electricity from a state with around two per cent of Australia’s population. 

Offering world-class renewable energy resources, many of which are still untapped including wave, tidal and geothermal, it is clear that Tasmania is well placed to become a global leader in the development of renewable energy.

Our economy is driven by the principles of sustainability and environmental responsibility and the Tasmanian Government’s priority is to secure significant new investment to develop the renewable energy resource base and associated electricity generation capacity. 

Opportunities exist for investment in:

• Wind power
  Wind power generation is well established in Tasmania with six on-shore wind power projects in various stages of the planning and permitting process. The government welcomes interest from other potential developers of Tasmania’s significant wind resources.
  
• Bio-energy
  Tasmania currently has a number of bio-energy projects which are under evaluation including ones that focus on a whole-of-system approach. Two current projects are based on anaerobic digestion of effluent and waste from food- processing facilities and using the methane generated to power electricity and heat-generating turbines.
  
• Geothermal energy
  The geothermal exploration that has been undertaken in recent years has shown high geothermal resource prospects in Tasmania with targets in close proximity to the electricity transmission grid. The focus in this earlier stage of resource definition and technology development activity is on assisting developers to obtain funding support for exploration and technology development. 
  
• Marine energy
  Marine energy - wave, tidal and offshore wind is another area in which Tasmania is expected to have a resource capability advantage in the longer term.
  
  The marine environment off the west coast of Tasmania and in western Bass Strait is recognised as having the highest potential for wave energy in Australian waters. The tidal currents in the Banks Strait between Clarke Island and the Tasmanian mainland off the north- east of the state have the strongest flows in Australian waters south of the tropics.
  
  In the past five years, two groups have undertaken preliminary studies into developing marine energy proposals. Our current focus is to assist developers obtain funding support to increase resource definition and technology development.

Tasmania offers your business:

• significant high quality reserves renewable energy resources, particularly for wind power
• close proximity of many renewable energy resources to high voltage transmission
• clear resource allocation and approvals framework for projects on crown land
• supportive government
• environmentally aware and conscious community
• a renewable energy loan fund to assist eligible renewable energy projects.

For more information go to:
Renewable energy sector summary
www.dier.tas.gov.au/energy