Marinus Link will see a second undersea electricity connection constructed between Tasmania and Victoria, with supporting transmission infrastructure. Marinus Link is part of Project Marinus, which also comprises the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD). The project is being developed by TasNetworks, and would operate in addition to the existing Basslink interconnector.
The full scope of the project includes the delivery of 1.5 gigawatts of transmission lines, delivered across two stages, between Burnie in Tasmania and Hazelwood in Victoria, with supporting network augmentations in Tasmania.
- Stage One comprises the first 750-megawatt (MW) transmission line, and
- Stage Two comprises the second 750-MW transmission line.
Stage Two may proceed subject to market operators needs and development of additional dispatchable capacity in Tasmania.
Stage One will be delivered alongside the NTWD Stage One, and Stage Two expected to be delivered alongside the remainder of the scope of the NTWD.
The components of the full project include:
- around 250 kilometres of undersea cables
- 90 kilometres of underground cables, and
- converter stations at both ends.
Key Dates
| Oct 2020 | Project Announcement |
| Aug 2024 | Contract Award - Stage One |
| 2025 | Expected FID - Stage One |
| 2025 | Expected Construction Commencement - Stage One |
| Jun 2030 | Expected Operations Commencement - Stage One |
| Dec 2030 | Expected Construction Completion - Stage One |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
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The Federal Government committed $56 million of its funding through ARENA for project development.
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Financing
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The project will receive access to a concessional loan from the Rewiring the Nation plan, through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, for approximately 80 per cent of the costs. The additional 20 per cent is to be an equity investment between the Commonwealth, Victoria and Tasmania. Originally, the equity investment was to be shared equally between the three governments (agreed in October 2022). However, in September 2023, the Federal and Tasmanian Governments announced a new agreement had been reached which would see the Federal Government's equity contribution increase to 49 per cent and the Tasmanaian Government's contribution decrease to 17.7 per cent. The Victorian contribution is to remain at 33.3 per cent. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | TasNetworks |
| Successful Tenderer: | Stage One: Prysmian PowerLink |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Apr 2017 | The Tamblyn Review, an initial report into the feasibility of a Tasmanian second interconnector was released. |
| Nov 2017 | TasNetworks announced it would undertake a $20 million assessment of the feasibility and business case for a second Bass Straight interconnector, with assistance from ARENA. |
| Jul 2018 | TasNetworks released the Project Specification Consultation Report for public consultation, which examines the case for further interconnection between Tasmania and Victoria. The document applies the regulatory test for transmission (RIT-T) process to determine whether the project is in the long-term interest of customers. |
| Feb 2019 | A business case study examining the preferred route, optimum size, cost estimate, revenue investment test and financial model for a second interconnector was released. |
| Dec 2019 | The Project Assessment Draft Report (PADR) and Business Case Assessment were released for consultation. The PADR proposed splitting the project into two stages. |
| Jun 2020 | The Federal Government announced that Federal planning approvals for the project will be fast-tracked under a bilateral model between the Federal and Tasmanian Governments. |
| Jul 2020 | In its 2020 Integrated System Plan, AEMO identified Marinus Link as a critical project and provided updated costings for Stages One and Two. Stage One has an estimated cost of between $1.3 billion and $2.4 billion, with a modelled cost of $1.845 billion. Stage Two has a cost estimate of between $2.2 billion and $4.1 billion, with a modelled cost of $3.155 billion. Early Works across both stages are estimated to cost $140 million. |
| Sep 2020 | The Federal Government announced that it intends to work with state governments to accelerate the project, alongside the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West (VNI West), through a combined program with funding of 'up to' $250 million. |
| Oct 2020 | The 2020-21 Federal Budget provided a loan (of an unspecified amount) for the design and approval phase of the project to enable a financial investment decision by 2024. A Special Purpose Vehicle was to be set up to facilitate governance and decision-making. |
| Mar 2021 | The project's Options Report was put on public exhibition. The report identifies a preferred route for the project which includes approximately 250 kilometres of subsea cables, up to 90 kilometres of land cables and a converter station at each end. |
| Jun 2021 | The RIT-T Project Assessment Conclusions Report was released. This included a P50 cost estimate of $3.5 billion, based on analysis by Jacobs. The P90 cost estimate was $3.8 billion. This represented a substantially lower estimated cost than the upper bound costs included in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2020 Integrated Systems Plan. |
| Jul 2021 | Pre-qualification commenced for the procurement of the high voltage direct current (HVDC) components of the project. Pre-qualification documents were to be made available on 6 August, with submissions closing on 24 September. |
| Oct 2021 | TasNetworks submitted Federal and Victorian Government environmental referrals for project assessment. |
| Apr 2022 | The Federal Government released a Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) which announced an additional $32 million in funding toward the project, bringing its total contribution to $88 million. |
| Oct 2022 | The Federal and Tasmanian governments announced that the project would be receiving Rewiring the Nation financing, with 80% of the costs covered by a concessional loan under this plan, and the remaining 20% to be an equity investment shared equally between the Commonwealth, Victoria and Tasmania. |
| Jun 2023 | The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) published its decision to commence a transmission determination process for the project. The publication also includes AER’s Commencement and Process Paper for this process, which allows Marinus Link’s transmission determination process under Chapter 6A of the National Electricity Rules to proceed in two stages. Stage 1 will be an for an early works revenue determination, and Stage 2 will be a full revenue determination. Stage 1 costs will not be recovered from consumers until the project is commissioned. Marinus Link must submit its revenue proposal for Stage 1, Part A (Early Works) by 31 July 2023, for Stage 1, Part B (Construction costs) by 28 February 2024, and Stage 2 (including Pricing Methodology) by 30 January 2027. AER’s transmission determination for the project will occur between July 2025 and June 2028. |
| Sep 2023 | The Federal and Tasmanian Governments announced they had reached a new financing agreement for the project, which includes adjustments to their respective equity share contributions. The new arrangement will see the existing 80:20 debt to equity ratio maintained, but the Federal Government’s equity contribution to the joint venture increases to 49 per cent, with Tasmania’s equity share decreasing to 17.7 per cent. Victoria’s equity share will remain at 33.3 per cent. Tasmania will also have the option to sell its share to the Federal Government upon commissioning of the project. The agreement outlines that the project will initially focus on Stage One – the delivery of the first transmission cable – in the first instance, with negotiations to continue on the second cable following a final investment decision on Stage One. The delivery timeframe has been brought forward to 2028. |
| Nov 2023 | TasNetworks announced new cost estimates for both stages of the project. Stage One has a total estimated cost of $2.9 billion and Stage Two has a total estimated cost of $2.2 billion, bringing the total project cost to $5.1 billion. TasNetworks also confirmed that the delivery of Stage One will be prioritised, with a final investment decision expected in December 2024. |
| Dec 2023 | The draft 2024 Integrated System Plan, bundling the Marinus Link and North West Transmission Lines, provided an update of the project timeline and cost. The estimated cost of the two projects together was listed at $6.5 billion, with a margin of error of 30 per cent. The expected in service date of both cables is June 2032 with full capacity expected in December 2032. |
| Mar 2024 | The Marinus Link financing agreement between the Federal and Tasmanian Governments, announced last September, reached completion, with the $5.1 billion project now operating under a new ownership arrangement for the 20 per cent equity share. The new arrangement sees the existing 80:20 debt to equity ratio maintained, but the Federal Government’s equity contribution to the joint venture has increased to 49 per cent and Tasmania’s equity share decreasing to 17.7 per cent. Victoria’s equity share remains at 33.3 per cent. Previously all jurisdictions had equal contributions. Tasmania also has the option to sell its share to the Federal Government upon commissioning of the project. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is providing the 80 per cent debt financing. |
| May 2024 | Hitachi Energy has been selected to supply the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) system for the project along the cable route. |
| Jun 2024 | The 2024 ISP confirmed the cost and delivery timeline update for the project. Stage One has a total estimated cost of $3.8 billion; and is expected to commence operations in June 2030, and be complete in December 2030. Stage Two has a total estimated cost of $2.7 billion, and is expected to commence operations by June 2032 and be complete by December 2032. |
| Aug 2024 | Marinus Link awarded Prysmian PowerLink the contract to design, manufacture, supply and install Stage One of the Marinus Link. Additionally, the proposed date for the Final Investment Decision has been delayed to May 2025. |
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Unconfirmed |
Location
Tasmania |
National |
Resources
Media releases
2019/10/17 - Technical and economic analysis2019/12/04 - Project Assessment Draft Report and Business Case Assessment
2021/10/07 - Environment referrals
2023/09/03 - Financing agreement
2023/11/20 - New cost estimates
2024/03/26 - Financing agreement
2024/05/24 - Hitachi Energy
2021/07/21 - Pre-qualification commencement
2020/06/15 - Federal planning approvals
2022/10/19 - Rewiring the Nation financing
2020/09/15 - Additional funding
2017/11/24 - Feasbility and business case for second interconnector
2019/02/27 - Business case
2024 Integrated System Plan
2024/08/05 - Contract award and FID delay
