SunCable's AAPowerLink project receives environmental approval

SunCable has announced it has obtained its principal environmental approval from the Northern Territory Government and NT Environment Protection Authority for its flagship Australia-Asia Power Link project, paving the way for the next phase of development.

SunCable said the AAPowerLink is the world’s largest renewable energy and transmission project in development and is projected to be one of the largest economic industrial developments in Australian history. The project presents an opportunity for the NT to be at the forefront of this global shift through the development of its renewable energy resources to supply customers in Darwin and Singapore with 24/7 green electricity.

The project seeks to develop the world’s largest renewable energy precinct in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.

Over two stages of development, it aims to deliver up to 4 GW of 24/7 renewably generated electricity to green industrial customers in Darwin (900 MW in Stage 1 and a further approximately 3 GW in Stage 2) and 1.75 GW to customers in Singapore via a 4300 km subsea cable.

SunCable Australia’s Managing Director Cameron Garnsworthy said the approval decision is a major milestone that provides significant momentum to the project.

“SunCable is delighted to receive environmental approval from the Northern Territory Government to proceed with our flagship Australia-Asia Power Link project,” he said. “This approval allows us to progress the development, commercial and engineering activities required to advance the project to Final Investment Decision targeted in 2027.

Map of the AAPowerLink project. For a larger image click here.

“SunCable is founded with the belief that Australia can lead the world’s energy transition. 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.”

A Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected in 2027, with electricity supply to commence in the early 2030s.

The environmental approval covers a significant portion of SunCable’s AAPowerLink project infrastructure, which includes:

• the solar generation and utility-scale storage site at Powell Creek with generation capacity of up to 10 GW;
• an approximately 800 km high voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead transmission line running from the solar precinct to Murrumujuk, north-east of Darwin;
• the Darwin converter site, which includes the terminal location for the transmission line and 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;
• subsea HVDC cable from the Darwin Converter Station to the end of Australian territorial waters to the Indonesian border.
   

The project is expected to deliver more than AU$20 billion in economic value to the Northern Territory during the construction period and first 35 years of operation. In the NT, the project will support an average of 6800 direct and indirect jobs for each year of the construction phase, with a peak workforce of 14,300.

Top image credit: SunCable.