The Liberal Government is committed to Tasmania playing a bigger role in further renewable energy development in Australia.
Tasmania already has world class renewable energy resources, considerable expertise in renewable development and a strong heritage through Hydro Tasmania.
The Basslink interconnector means Tasmania continues to be well placed to make a significant contribution to supplying clean, renewable energy into the national market now and into the future.
The RET has been and can continue to be a key economic driver for Tasmania and it has delivered important benefits in the state through economic activity, new investment and jobs.
In our submission to the review of the Renewable Energy Target Scheme, the Liberal Government advocated for Tasmania playing a larger role in renewable energy into the future.
We also highlighted the risks facing Tasmania’s manufacturing sector, including the high Australian dollar, low commodity prices and the high cost of freight.
Tasmania has four of the most electricity intense sectors – aluminium smelting, zinc smelting, manganese smelting and newsprint.
These high-electricity use sectors, which use around 65 per cent of Tasmania’s power grid, are paying a higher cost comparative to other states. That’s why we’ve asked for a full exemption for highly affected manufacturing sectors to reduce the burden on Tasmania.
It is pleasing to see this exemption has been welcomed by our Federal counterparts who also see the potential benefits for Tasmania.
The Liberal Government is committed to growing the economy and creating jobs and we want to make sure our key manufacturing sectors aren’t unfairly disadvantaged.
We are committed to effectively utilising our energy assets as an economic driver to attract investment, retain industry and secure jobs and the RET Scheme has a key role to play in achieving this.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Energy
