SunCable has secured the principal environmental approval in Australia for its Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project.
The approval has been granted to the Australian renewable energy company by the Northern Territory (NT) government and NT Environment Protection Authority. It will enable SunCable to advance the development, commercial, and engineering activities needed to achieve the project’s final investment decision (FID).
The AAPowerLink project aims to establish the world’s largest clean energy precinct in Northern Territory’s Barkly region.
It will feature a 17-20GWp solar farm, a 36-42GWh battery system, and a 5,000km high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.
Through two development stages, the Australian renewable infrastructure project will provide up to 4GW of continuous green electricity to industrial customers across Darwin.
According to SunCable, 900MW of renewable energy will be supplied in stage 1 and an additional capacity of around 3GW will be delivered in stage 2 of the project.
The AAPowerLink project will also deliver 1.75GW of clean energy to customers in Singapore through a 4,300km subsea cable.
The environmental approval encompasses the solar generation and utility-scale storage site at Powell Creek with a generation capacity of up to 10GW, and a nearly 800km long HVDC overhead transmission line.
Also covered under the approval are the Darwin converter site and subsea HVDC cable from the converter station to the end of Australian territorial waters to the Indonesian border.
The Darwin converter site will convert electricity from HVDC to high voltage alternating current (HVAC) for connection to Darwin and then back to HVDC for transmission to Singapore.
SunCable plans to take the FID on the AAPowerLink project in 2027, with the supply of electricity to begin in the early 2030s.
The renewable infrastructure project is estimated to contribute over A$20bn ($13.47bn) in economic value to the Northern Territory during its construction period and the first 35 years of operation.
Besides, the AAPowerLink project will support an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs annually during the construction phase.
SunCable Australia managing director Cameron Garnsworthy said: “AAPowerLink presents a unique opportunity for the Northern Territory to be at the forefront of this global shift through the development of its world-class renewable energy resources to supply customers in Darwin and Singapore with 24/7 green electricity.
“This will underpin a new wave of green industrial development in the NT, via prospective projects that include green minerals, hydrogen, e-fuels, and data centres.”
