Taslink plans deep-sea cable to connect Australia, New Zealand
New Zealand venture Taslink has announced plans to build a 2 GW to 3 GW capacity high-voltage cable linking Australia and New Zealand to facilitate the day-to-day trading of electricity between the two nations.
New Zealand venture Taslink has announced plans to build a 2 GW to 3 GW capacity high-voltage cable linking Australia and New Zealand to facilitate the day-to-day trading of electricity between the two nations.
The founders of Auckland-based renewables developer Far North Solar Farm have unveiled plans to build a 2,600-kilometre submarine cable connecting the Australian and New Zealand power grids.
Far North Solar directors Richard Homewood and John Telfer have established new venture Taslink with plans to build a AUD 10.85 billion ($6.7 billion) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable extending from south of Auckland to Newcastle on the New South Wales central coast.
Speaking on New Zealand radio, Homewood said the project would increase generation and transmission capacity in both markets and allow for the two-way trade of electricity to match peak and off-peak periods in both countries, taking advantage of the time difference.
“From a day-to-day perspective, New Zealand has a morning peak followed by Australia, followed by a New Zealand evening peak and followed by Australia,” he said. “So what we’ve modeled is there will be trade between the two markets between the peaks. When one market has surplus electricity at a lower price, we’ll purchase that and then sell it into the other market at a discount to whatever the electricity rate is that’s being offered in that market in real time.”
Homewood said Taslink has undertaken more than two years of engineering feasibility studies in consultation with a team of global HVDC experts and one of the biggest manufacturers in the world to ensure that the submarine cable can be laid at the required depth and distance. At an expected depth of 5km below sea level, the cable would be one of the deepest in the world.
“We’ve now reached that point that it can go ahead,” Homewood said, adding that Taslink has also worked closely with the market operators in both Australia and New Zealand to confirm the feasibility of the project. “From a power industry perspective, we’ve obviously engaged substantially with AEMO on the Australian side and Transpower on the New Zealand side as well as the electricity authority over here too. By all accounts, they simply will see us as a generator and also a load so there’s nothing in terms of market integration that’s a showstopper, but of course they would start to need to consider one another in their day-to-day operations and really start operating as one Trans Tasman market.”
Taslink has signaled that construction of the cable could begin in 2028 with the asset to enter operation in 2032.
Homewood said the unveiling of the project coincides with Taslink’s second round of private funding, which will finance the second stage of product development. A third capital raise is planned, focused on capital investment and although the company is not seeking public investment, the option for government involvement is also a possibility.
“From an ownership perspective, our focus has always been on making sure the cable can wash its own face,” Homewood said. “We’re not going out and asking for government funding, but we are aware of the fact that it will become a very integral and important part of both electricity markets and there may be some desire for government ownership potentially on one side or the other. But again, we’re not going out and asking for that. We’re making sure it just stands on its own.”
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