Optimising the ‘Battery of the Nation’ 2

Optimising the ‘Battery of the Nation’ 5 Executive Summary With its ‘Battery of the Nation’ project, Tasmania is seeking to become a key source of electricity storage for mainland Australia by maximising the state’s hydro power capacity. [...] This would require more detailed modelling of the potential to confirm the findings from this report, accounting for the full complexity of Tasmania and Victoria’s electricity systems, as well as a review of current regulatory and market settings. [...] Optimising the ‘Battery of the Nation’ 9 Introduction The Tasmanian government’s ‘Battery of the Nation’ project is an ambitious plan to establish the state as a key source of electricity storage for mainland Australia, by maximising the state’s hydro power capacity.1 Hydro generation has multiple benefits: it provides zero emissions electricity, but is also a dispatchable electricity generation t. [...] This shows the key role played by hydro, the useful-but-variable role of wind, the small, seasonal role of solar, and the significance of summer imports and winter exports (exports are equal to the generation volumes below the horizontal axis). [...] Adding generation, transmission and storage Expanding generation capacity could increase water storage The Tasmanian government has significant plans to expand renewable electricity generation, pumped hydro storage and interconnection with the mainland.64 In particular, the state intends to double its renewable energy production and generate 200% of its electricity needs by 2040.65 The state inten.