29 September 2023
Have you seen Tasmania’s Superpower campaign? Watch a clip below and check out all the content by clicking here.
An epic tale of bold engineering under extreme conditions, in one of the most remote corners of the world, began in the early 1900s. Thousands of people, many displaced by economic distress, war, and strife, came from around the world to build ‘the Hydro’.
Our first power station was built in 1914, and by the 1920s, hydropower had revolutionised Tasmanian industry. It also changed the way we lived. Households were electrified for the first time, both bringing light and lightening the domestic load through new appliances.
Teresa at Waddamana Power Station Heritage Site
We continued to build hydropower stations until the late 1980s, in Tasmania’s Central Highlands, North-West and West Coast. We now have 30 power stations producing clean energy and the Tasmanian hydropower system is one of the biggest in the country.
Interested to hear more about our 100+ year history? Learn more by clicking here.
In Tasmania, the air is clean, the rivers are flowing, and the rain is abundant! We’ve harnessed our natural assets to reach 100% ‘self-sufficiency’ in renewable energy. This means at any time Tasmania can be powered entirely by renewable energy. In 2022, Tassie reached 99.1% 'renewable energy penetration', meaning how much renewable energy is generated compared to total generation from any source.
Blue skies over Meadowbank Dam in Tasmania
To put this into perspective, Australia’s total generation from renewable sources (wind and solar) in 2022 was 35.9%. The second highest renewable penetration is the windy South Australia at 71.5% for 2022, giving Tasmania a clear lead in the race to renewables.
Demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day, peaking in the mornings and evenings, and between the seasons as we turn our heaters up and down. But overall, as Jane mentioned in our Tasmania’s Superpower video, “demand for electricity is growing, and demand for renewable electricity is growing!”
We are in a new era of electrification, with growing demand for renewable sources to help curb climate change. Everything from barbecues to cars to factories are transitioning to electricity. In Tasmania, electricity consumption is expected to double in the next 30 years*.
With its enviable history of hydropower and big plans for future renewable energy projects, Tassie is in prime position to meet the island’s growing demand for renewable energy, and to help the rest of Australia transition. This is because hydro can act like a big battery, storing excess energy when it’s very windy and very sunny, and feeding it back into the grid when wind and solar don’t generate enough.
Interested in learning more about the different players in the NEM? Learn more by clicking here.
The NEM spans the east coast of Australia, from south-east Queensland, through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and across the Bass Strait to Tasmania. Each state has its own ‘grid’ – the poles and wires that keep the electricity moving to where it needs to go. Each of these grids is connected via an interconnector.
Interconnectors exist between Queensland and NSW, NSW and Victoria, Victoria and South Australia, and Victoria and Tasmania – Basslink! We’ve been connected to the grid since 2005 and Basslink is how we currently import and export energy between Tasmania and the mainland.
Source: AEMC
Of course, hydropower isn’t the only form of renewable energy generated in Tasmania. The state has a number of wind farms which take advantage of the famous ‘roaring forties’, the strong westerly winds that occur between the latitudes around 40 degrees South (right above Tassie!). They also pass over South Australia and Victoria, which is why our three states have more wind farms than other Australian states.
As more wind and solar connect to the grid, the role of hydropower will change. We’ll use cheaper wind and solar energy when it’s abundant and use valuable hydro to fill in the gaps when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing. This will help us meet growing demand for renewable energy, keep costs as low as possible and get the most value out of our water resources.
We hope you have learnt a thing or two about how Tasmania’s pioneering spirit and efforts over a century have set us up beautifully for the future, powered by Tasmania’s abundant resource – water. Check out more 'Superpower' content by clicking here.
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