Groundwork needs to be laid before second interconnector

 Renewable investment needed to make second Bass Strait link work
 Liberals doing nothing to set Tasmania up for the future
 Labor’s ‘Target 500’ policy would lay the foundation

Labor Leader Bryan Green said Tasmania needs to build the business case for a second Basslink.

“We need significant investment in renewable energy on island to make a second Bass Strait interconnector viable” Mr Green said.

“A report from the Australian Energy Market Operator says a second connector between Tasmania and mainland Australia should be part of the country’s future energy mix.

“The AEMO report backs in a second link but cautions “the benefits are only marginally greater than the costs”.

“Labor knows the groundwork needs to be laid first, that’s why we’d install an additional 500 mega-watts of renewable energy over the next decade.

“Our ‘Target 500’* policy is designed to leverage investment and maximise the state’s renewable energy advantage.

“Unlike Matthew Groom who’s done nothing over the past three years, Labor would be working now to set Tasmania up for the future.

“We need to have the state firing from a production point of view to fully take advantage of a second link.

“Here is Tasmania’s chance to become the key base load renewable energy provider to the Australian mainland and be rewarded for its long term investment in renewable hydro-electricity.

“The Liberals keep talking about a second cable but are lost for words when someone asks them how it will be paid for.”

*http://taslabor.com/target-500-labors-renewable-energy-development-target-new-energy-technologies-initiative/
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader