• Australia's government has approved the country's largest solar farm project, SunCable's Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink).
• The project aims to supply renewable energy to Darwin and export green energy to Singapore, involving the construction of 4,300 kilometres of undersea cables.
• The AAPowerLink will deliver up to four GW of renewable energy to Darwin and 1.75 GW to Singapore, creating an average of 6,800 jobs annually during the building period.
• Despite environmental approval in Australia, the project faces regulatory hurdles in Singapore and Indonesia, with a final investment decision anticipated in 2027.

In a significant stride towards establishing Australia as a global leader in renewable energy, the Australian government has given the green light to the country's largest solar farm project in the outback. The project, known as SunCable's Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), has been approved by Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for the Environment and Water.

The AAPowerLink project is a monumental undertaking, aiming to supply renewable energy to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory (NT), and eventually export green energy to Singapore. This ambitious plan involves the construction of 4,300 kilometres of undersea cables, a testament to the scale and scope of the project.

The first phase of the project will see the construction of up to 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar generation and battery storage capacity on pastoral land near the outback town of Elliott, over 600 km south of Darwin.

Australia's Leap Towards Renewable Energy

Environmental approvals have been granted for 800 km of overhead transmission lines from the facility to Darwin and an underwater cable from Darwin to the end of Australian waters. Once completed, the AAPowerLink will deliver up to four GW of 24/7 renewable energy to Darwin, enough to power three million homes, and 1.75 GW to Singapore.

This project is not just about energy production; it's about economic growth and job creation. According to SunCable, the project will deliver more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13.4 billion) in economic value to the NT in its first 35 years, creating an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs annually during the building period, with a peak workforce of 14,300.

Plibersek described the project as a generation-defining piece of infrastructure and the largest solar precinct in the world. She further stated that the project would not only help turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower but also provide a significant boost to the Northern Territory economy.

Challenges and Future Prospects

The project has also received the nod from the NT government and NT Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in July, approving plans for the generation and storage site, transmission lines, a Darwin converter site, and an undersea High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable from the converter to the end of Australian territorial waters at the border with Indonesia.

However, the project's approval came with strict conditions to protect the natural environment, including the requirement to avoid the habitat of the greater bilby, a rabbit-like mammal considered vulnerable to extinction. Despite winning environmental approval in Australia, the project still faces various other regulatory hurdles, including assessments by authorities in Singapore and Indonesia.

The project's future was thrown into doubt in January last year when SunCable went into voluntary administration amid a dispute between Cannon-Brookes and fellow billionaire backer Andrew Forrest over the direction of the company. However, Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of US-Australian software company Atlassian, revived the bid in May after a consortium he led won control of the company's assets.

While the governing centre-left Labor Party and opposition centre-right Liberal Party have both committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, the parties disagree on the steps for getting there. In June, the Liberal Party proposed constructing the country's first nuclear power plants, which Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed as an uncosted "thought bubble".

The AAPowerLink project is reminiscent of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, a consortium of European companies that aimed to harness solar power from the Sahara desert to meet Europe's energy needs. However, the project faced numerous challenges and was eventually abandoned.

The project is anticipated to receive a Final Investment Decision in 2027, and the electricity supply will start in the early 2030s. Despite Australians being some of the most eager adopters of household solar panels globally, successive governments have been hesitant to fully commit to renewable energy. This project, however, marks a significant shift in that stance, positioning Australia as a potential world leader in green energy. This ambitious project, with its significant backing and potential for economic growth, could mark a new era in renewable energy, setting a precedent for future projects worldwide.