GenusPlus Group (ASX: PNB)a national electricity and communications infrastructure provider, has been awarded the contract for the first stage of the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) project in Tasmania.
Marinus Project
This contract is part of the larger ‘Project Marinus’, first proposed in 2017 and aimed at building two high-voltage direct current submarine cables (the Marinus Link) between Tasmania and Victoria. With planned expansion of wind and hydro farms, Tasmania has the potential to generate a significant surplus of renewable energy. The existing Basslink interconnection would have insufficient capacity to transmit it.
The project is led by TasNetworks, a state-owned company that operates Tasmania’s electricity transmission and distribution networks. It is supported by funding from the Australian Government’s Rewiring the Nation plan.
Grid Leveling
The Marinus Project includes not only the interconnection, but also the upgrade of Tasmania’s transmission network to support the increased flow of energy.
GenusPlus will be the main contractor for Phase 1 of the NWTD, which will include the construction of 220kV double circuit transmission lines, the augmentation of substations at Burnie, Sheffield and Palmerston and the construction of a new power station. switching to Heybridge.
The initial “Early Contractor Involvement” (ECI) phase, valued at $42 million, covers engineering and design work, with the purchase of materials to follow under separate agreements.
The construction phase is subject to several approvals and is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026 and be completed in 2029.
The total cost of NWTD Phase 1 is estimated at $950 million.
As of 10:50 a.m., shares were trading up 4.69% at $2.57.
