Hydro Tasmania together with GE Power Systems is to upgrade the 300 MW Poatina hydropower plant, which entered service in 1965. The project is part of Hydro Tasmania's ten year upgrade programme and has been stimulated by the Australian government's Mandated Renewable Energy Target (MRET) legislation, an attempt to raise the proportion of renewable energy used from 10.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent by 2010 as part ofthe country's Kyoto commitment.
The incentive programme utilises tradable renewable energy certificates; Tasmania is soon to be linked to the Australian mainland grid via a 600 MW cable across the Bass Strait.
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