North West Transmission Developments project backs Australia's clean energy grid
Low-cost long-term financing benefits consumers
CEFC finance is helping slash the consumer costs of stage one of the North West Transmission Developments project that connects Marinus Link to the Tasmanian electricity network.
$1.2 billion
CEFC commitment
Cutting
consumer costs
Increasing
electricity capacity
The CEFC finance is fundamental to delivering this infrastructure in a way that would not have been possible through commercial financing alone. Their investment provides a prudent funding structure that supports long term network investment in the state while protecting customers from increased cost pressures.Richie SheatherNWTD Project Director, TasNetworks
Our investment
The CEFC has committed up to $1.2 billion from the Rewiring the Nation Fund (RTN Fund) to support the delivery of stage one of the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) project.
TasNetworks will use the CEFC finance to upgrade more than 130km of the transmission infrastructure needed to connect the Marinus Link landing point at Heybridge into Tasmania’s transmission network.
This includes new and upgraded substations and associated grid infrastructure required to manage power flows, maintain system stability and integrate both renewable and dispatchable generation into the broader National Electricity Market.
The commitment to NWTD follows the August 2025 CEFC commitment to Marinus Link.
The CEFC RTN Fund is working to reduce energy costs by accelerating essential grid projects and reducing the cost of capital. Expanding transmission capacity allows Australia to source more electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
Learn more about the RTN Fund.
OUR IMPACT
Upgrading transmission infrastructure to enable the distribution of renewable energy to where it is needed in Tasmania and mainland Australia will help build a reliable and secure system in a critical step towards a net zero emissions economy.
NWTD, which is a key part of Project Marinus and Australia’s transition to a low carbon future, will increase electricity capacity between Tasmania and the mainland, boost the state’s access to lower-cost mainland solar electricity, and improve its electricity security and reliability.
In addition, it will help share Tasmania’s abundant renewable energy, integrating both renewable and dispatchable energy into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
CEFC finance, which is low cost and long term, combined with TasNetworks’ lower-returning equity is forecast to reduce network charges paid by consumers for the project by around 55 per cent over the life of the project, compared with standard regulatory settings.
This equates to an estimated $315 million in benefits to Tasmanian electricity consumers in the first five years of operation.
