In a major boost to the renewable energy sector, SunCable has obtained principal environmental approval from Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) Government and NT Environment Protection Authority to develop its Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project.
This approval has paved the way for progress in the development, commercial, and engineering activities required to advance the project to Final Investment Decision (FID), SunCable said in a press release on July 16.
The project seeks to develop the world’s largest renewable energy precinct in the Barkly region of the NT.
Over two stages of development, the AAPowerLink seeks to deliver up to 4 Gigawatt (GW) of green electricity to industrial customers in Darwin (900 Megawatts (MW) in Stage 1 and a further approximately 3 GW in Stage 2) and 1.75 GW to customers in Singapore via a 4,300 km subsea cable, SunCable said.
The company expects to complete an FID in 2027 and commence electricity supply in the early 2030s.
What will AAPowerLink include?
The AAPowerLink is envisaged to be a large-scale solar farm, energy storage, and transmission system that will provide renewable electricity to the Northern Territory and export it to Singapore.
The project will include a solar precinct in the Barkly region, covering 12,000 hectares, that will generate 17-20 GW (peak) from the solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays.
As a comparison, Loy Yang in Victoria, Australia’s largest power station, has a capacity of 3.6 GW. However, the power generated per GW capacity is higher for coal-fired power than for solar PV.
The project will be able to store 36-42 GW hours of energy storage. An 800 km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) overhead transmission line will connect the solar precinct to Murrumujuk, northeast of Darwin.
Murrumujuk will serve as the project’s converter site, which includes the terminal location for the transmission line. It will convert electricity from HVDC to High-Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) for connection to Darwin before being converted back to HVDC for transmission to Singapore.
Furthermore, the project will consist of a subsea HVDC cable from the Darwin Converter Station to the end of Australian territorial waters at the Indonesian border.
SunCable said the project is expected to deliver more than USD13.5 billion (AUD 20 billion) in economic value to the Northern Territory during the construction period and its first 35 years of operation.
Economic and environmental benefits
The AAPowerLink project aligns with the Australian government’s priorities regarding the economic development of northern Australia and the transition to less carbon-intensive forms of energy.
The project aims to place downward pressure on electricity prices in the Darwin region for residential and industrial customers, reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and develop a new renewable electricity export industry for northern Australia.
SunCable Australia’s managing director Cameron Garnsworthy said the project will underpin a new wave of green industrial development in the NT through prospective projects that include green minerals, hydrogen, e-fuels, and data centers.
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The indirect benefits of the project to Australia include an uplift in economic activity from spin-off industries to support the proposal’s construction and operation and catalyze new industry investment to take advantage of lower energy costs.
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Kapil Kajal Kapil Kajal is a journalist with a diverse portfolio spanning defense, politics, technology, crime, environment, human rights, and foreign policy. His work has been featured in publications such as Janes, National Geographic, Al Jazeera, Rest of World, Mongabay, and Nikkei. Kapil holds a dual bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronics, and Communication Engineering and a master’s diploma in journalism from the Institute of Journalism and New Media in Bangalore.