Australia has approved a $13.5 billion solar project to send energy from a large solar farm in the north to Singapore via a 4,300-kilometre underwater cable. The SunCable Australia-Asia Power Link will create enough energy to power three million homes, establishing Australia as a global leader in green energy, according to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.
The project, which includes solar panels, batteries, and an eventual cable link, intends to address the growing need for domestically and internationally green energy. Electricity supply is planned to commence in the early 2030s, with a final investment decision made in 2027.
The approval is subject to stringent environmental requirements, including measures to protect the habitat of the greater bilby, a tiny marsupial. The project will be constructed in two stages, with the eventual goal of providing up to 6 gigawatts of green electricity to industrial users in Darwin and Singapore.
Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) is in talks with SunCable as part of the city-state’s overall ambition to import up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, accounting for around 30% of its total electricity supply. EMA has previously given conditional clearance to projects from Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam, deeming them technically and commercially viable.
