Clean Energy Finance Corporation commits $3.8 million to Marinus Link

The federal government has announced financial close for Stage 1 of Marinus Link, an undersea and underground electricity and data interconnector linking Victoria and Tasmania, after $3.8 billion in funding from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation was secured.

According to a statement from federal energy minister Chris Bowen and others on Wednesday, it marks the final decision on “one of the most important energy projects” in Australia’s history. 

The ABC reports that the first stage is budgeted at $5 billion, and the CEFC's $3.8 billion contribution is through concessional loans. Further support for the project includes equity commitments from the federal, Tasmanian and Victorian governments announced last month.

“Marinus Link is another critical piece in the renewable energy transformation of Australia's electricity grid,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.

Marinus Link is the seventh project to be financed through the CEFC's Rewiring the Nation (RTN) Fund.

Stage 1 construction is planned to begin next year and finish by 2030. Both stages are planned to include 750 megawatts of capacity and improve the connection between Tasmania and the national grid. 

Stage 1 will create a claimed 2,400 jobs across the two states and “reductions in wholesale electricity prices” of an estimated $15 and $17 per megawatt hour for Tasmania and Victoria based on modelling by Marinus Link Pty Ltd (MLPL, a joint venture between the three governments.)

“Marinus Link will lead to economic benefits and job opportunities across the country, delivering cheaper, cleaner and reliable energy to and from Tasmania and the east coast of Australia,” said Bowen. 

Picture: credit Marinus Link Pty Ltd