Power for homes, farms and industry — not data sheds
- Hydro first serves households, farms and Tasmanian industry
- A 444 MW AI load is not a side project
- If new generation is built to cover it, households will pay
- Oppose destructive industrial solar and wind that flatten working land
And while they take water out of the river, they want the power off it too.
Firmus has asked Hydro for about 444 megawatts for AI factories in Tasmania. Hydro has not signed off. An outcome is due by the end of 2026. More proposals are in the pipeline. That is a claim on hydro Tasmanians built and paid for.
Why sell cheap reliable power to data sheds that will not house a nurse or put a roast on the Sunday table? Trying to put our water and power into that while households cop the bills is unacceptable.
They will say it is dispatchable, that it will switch off when the grid is tight, that households will not notice. A load that size is not a side project. If new generation has to be built to cover it, guess who pays for the poles, the wires and the firming. If it is not built, the water that should be making power for homes, farms and industry is making compute for someone else’s model.
I will also keep opposing destructive industrial solar and wind farm developments that flatten working land and send the power somewhere else while the Valley pays the visual and environmental cost.