| Basslink | |
|---|---|
 Map of Basslink | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 38°15′45″S 146°36′29″E / 38.26250°S 146.60806°E 38°24′22″S 147°4′6″E / 38.40611°S 147.06833°E 41°2′32″S 146°52′07″E / 41.04222°S 146.86861°E 41°6′53″S 146°53′31″E / 41.11472°S 146.89194°E |
| From | Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria |
| Passes through | Bass Strait |
| To | George Town substation, northern Tasmania |
| Ownership information | |
| Owner | APA Group |
| Construction information | |
| Construction started | 2003 |
| Construction cost | $875 million[1] |
| Commissioned | 2005 |
| Technical information | |
| Type | submarine cable |
| Type of current | HVDC |
| Total length | 370 km (230 mi) |
| Power rating | 500 MW (670,000 hp) (630 MW temporarily) |
The Basslink (/ˈbæslɪŋk/[2]) electricity interconnector is a 370 km (230 mi) 500 MW (670,000 hp) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable linking the electricity grids of the states of Victoria and Tasmania in Australia, crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria on the Australian mainland to the George Town substation in northern Tasmania. Basslink is bidirectional and enables Hydro Tasmania to supply some of the peak load capacity to the Australian mainland and take some of the excess power from the mainland when the generation on the mainland exceeds the demand.
Financial benefits from the Basslink investment included reduced or deferred need to invest in further base load generation facilities, and potential to profit from selling peak load power into a market in which prices are generally higher, and because the cable was also used to supply power to Tasmania in times of drought, as most of Tasmania's electricity generation is hydroelectricity. A government review of Basslink in 2011 found, "Basslink-related costs have been around $130 million ($ nominal) greater than the actual revenue benefits... [However] Taking both direct and indirect sources of value [such as increased energy security in times of drought] together, Hydro Tasmania concludes that over the period 2006-07 to 2010-11 the average net benefit of Basslink to its business is in excess of $40 million per annum".[1] However economist John Lawrence estimated that the 2015-2016 Basslink outage cost Hydro "between $140 and $180 million."[3]
Basslink is owned by APA Group (Australia) after acquisition in October 2022.
- ^ a b Electricity Supply Industry Expert Panel (December 2011). "Basslink: Decision making, expectations and outcomes" (PDF). Electricity.dpac.tas.gov.au. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Aggreko installs power plants to help Tasmania energy shortfall". YouTube. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ Lawrence, John (8 August 2016). "Basslink woes continue". Tasfintalk. Retrieved 22 April 2017.