Renewable energy developer Sun Cable has secured approval from the Australian government for the Australian element of its Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) interconnector.
In a statement made today (21 August), Sun Cable said the project has been assessed and approved by Tanya Plibersek, the Commonwealth’s minister for the Environment and Water, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). This approval follows the previous one secured from the Northern Territory government and NT Environment Protection Authority for the interconnector last month.
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Sun Cable said that the approval “signifies the Australian government’s confidence that Sun Cable can deliver this nationally important project within appropriate approval conditions”.
Cameron Garnsworthy, Sun Cable Australia’s managing director, said the approval was a landmark moment in the project’s journey. The company will now focus on achieving a final investment decision by 2027.
“Today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the project and Sun Cable itself as responsible stewards of the local Northern Territory environment. Sun Cable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a final investment decision targeted by 2027,” Garnsworthy said.
It is worth noting that the project received approval from Indonesian authorities in 2021.
AAPowerLink to couple large-scale solar and energy storage deployment
The AAPowerLink project is set to deploy between 17GW and 20GW of solar capacity and between 36.42GWh and 42GWh of energy storage to connect Australia’s Northern Territory with Singapore via 4,300km of subsea cable and supply power to the territory’s capital, Darwin, and the surrounding region.
The project aims to deliver up to 4GW of green electricity to Darwin’s green industrial customers over two stages of development. 900MW will be provided in stage one and approximately 3GW in stage two. 1.75GW will also be supplied to customers in Singapore.
Once complete, it will be capable of delivering up to 15% of Singapore’s total electricity needs via a 2GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable, Sun Cable said. Electricity supply is anticipated to commence in the early 2030s.
Sun Cable will also invest further in communities in the Northern Territory, Singapore, and Indonesia to help progress the project to the next stage. Indeed, the organisation is continuing negotiations of Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) with Traditional Owners across the project footprint in the Northern Territory.
In Singapore, Sun Cable is working with the Singapore Energy Market Authority on the conditional approval application for the project’s subsea cable interconnector component. Sun Cable is also engaging with the Indonesian government on regulatory and permitting matters to prove that the subsea route includes knowledge and hydrographic data sharing.
Speaking exclusively to PV Tech in 2022, Andrew Barton, project director of the Australia-Asia PowerLink, said the project would “use proven technologies that have been deployed at projects around the world” before adding that it “will unlock solar’s potential”.
