Ms O'CONNOR - Do you think there is a business case for Marinus Link, given that Victoria is investing in big battery infrastructure, as are our other states and territories, and we now have wind generation going into Bass Strait. Do you think there is actually a business case for Marinus that is not heavily subsidised?
Mr GUTWEIN - Yes, I do. The reason I do is one of the key benefits of Marinus is not just going to be the transmission of renewable energy from wind; it will be the firming capacity of hydro. That is the battery we have, that is the real opportunity.
As you are well aware, wind farms have about a 45 per cent to 46 per cent efficiency rate. So, you build a 1000 megawatt wind farm, you can get somewhere between 400- to 500 megawatts worth of energy out of it because it is intermittent; likewise with solar. That can be as low as 16 per cent to18 per cent efficiency out of a solar farm. This is where we are blessed in Tasmania in terms of the hydro assets we have, but also you can see that work going on with Snowy. It is the balancing aspect. We will balance the broader grid for south east Australia as a result of Marinus. We will also provide the opportunity for windfarm and other renewable development to be exported, which will add to our base here as well.
In terms of hydrogen, we have one proponent out there talking 100 megawatts to 300 megawatts. We have others looking at similar amounts of energy being used on island. We are ideally placed for that.
I do believe the business case for Marinus will stand up.