Australia Clears $2.5 Billion Cable to Tap Tasmania’s Dams

Australia has cleared the construction of a multibillion-dollar undersea power cable between the mainland and renewables-rich island state Tasmania.

The federal, Victorian and Tasmanian governments, which jointly own the venture, reached a final investment decision on the A$3.9 billion ($2.5 billion) Marinus Link, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Friday. Construction is due to start next year and scheduled to end by 2030.

Tasmania already gets about four-fifths of its power from hydro, and is set to produce way more renewable electricity than it needs in the coming decades as wind farms start up. The 345-kilometer (214-mile) undersea and underground ...