{"id":690388,"date":"2026-05-23T23:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690388\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T23:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:21:17","slug":"tasmanian-wind-and-solar-projects-secure-federal-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690388\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmanian wind and solar projects secure federal backing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two major renewable energy projects expected to deliver up to 541MW of clean energy and power around 160,000 Tasmanian homes have secured federal backing worth up to $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n

The Cellars Hill Wind Farm and Weasel Solar Farm were among 19 projects announced as successful bidders under the federal government\u2019s Capacity Investment Scheme on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The projects, located near Bothwell, are expected to create around 500 jobs during construction and 22 ongoing roles in the Central Highlands.<\/p>\n

Energy and Renewables Minister Nick Duigan said the announcement confirmed Tasmania\u2019s leadership in the national clean energy transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting time for Tasmania and we congratulate the proponents for Cellars Hill and Weasel Plains on their successful bids,\u201d Duigan said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Energy and Renewables Minister Nick Duigan welcomed the federal backing for two projects. Image \/ File<\/p>\n

\u201cThis outcome confirms the strength of our renewable energy pipeline and Tasmania\u2019s vital role in powering Australia\u2019s energy future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cellars Hill has been contracted to provide 341MW of wind generation while Weasel will add 200MW of solar.<\/p>\n

Both projects are being developed by Malaysian infrastructure group Gamuda in partnership with Melbourne-based Alternate Path and local landowners the Downie and Bowden families.<\/p>\n

Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the scheme will deliver \u201cmore cheap, clean energy, more jobs and more investment in our regions\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese projects will help keep the lights on, put downward pressure on power prices and cut emissions with the cheapest form of new energy, backed by storage,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"\"The Cellars Hill Wind Farm and Weasel Solar Farm are located near Bothwell. Image \/ Stock<\/p>\n

Duigan said the projects sat in strong areas of the network with no need for significant new transmission.<\/p>\n

The Cellars Hill proposal has drawn some local objections through the Tasmanian Planning Commission process, with the No Turbine Action Group raising concerns about noise, visual impact and cumulative effects from nearby wind farms.<\/p>\n

The announcement builds on the Bell Bay Wind Farm near George Town, which became Tasmania\u2019s first CIS-backed project last year.<\/p>\n

Duigan said federal backing would give industry the confidence to invest and help drive down energy prices over time.<\/p>\n

\"\"The projects were announced under the federal Capacity Investment Scheme. Image \/ Stock<\/p>\n

\u201cSecuring further CIS support demonstrates Tasmania\u2019s clean energy potential is being recognised at a national level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It] gives industry the confidence to invest, helps drive down energy prices over time and strengthens Tasmania\u2019s contribution to national energy security via Marinus Link.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two major renewable energy projects expected to deliver up to 541MW of clean energy and power around 160,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-690388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}