The receipt of key regulatory approvals has paved the way for the next stage of the development of the project, which will harness and store renewable energy in Australia and transmit it to Singapore via a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.
Source: SunCable
The Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) involves the development of the world's largest integrated renewable energy and storage facility in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory, with the potential to supply up to 6GW of renewable energy to Darwin and Singapore over multiple phases.
In addition to the 4,300 kilometre HVDC subsea cable, the infrastructure includes the Powell Creek solar photovoltaic and utility-scale storage facility with a generating capacity of up to 10GW, approximately 800 kilometres of HVDC overhead transmission lines running from the solar district to Murumjuk, north-east of Darwin, and a converter facility in Darwin.
Developer Suncable announced on 21 August that it had received Federal Government approval for the Australian portion of the flagship project following assessment and approval by the Federal Minister for Environment and Water under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).
This follows environmental approval being granted by the Northern Territory Government and the NT Environment Protection Authority in July.
Sun Cable said AAPowerLink was one of the largest energy infrastructure projects to receive EPBC Act approval, with the project's reach stretching approximately 2,000 kilometres from the centre of the Northern Territory to the Australia-Indonesia maritime border.
“SunCable is pleased to receive Federal Government approval under the EPBC Act following four years of extensive evaluation and public consultation with stakeholders across Australia,” said Cameron Garnsworthy, managing director of SunCable Australia. “SunCable will now be focused on the next stages of its planning to progress the project towards a Final Investment Decision, targeted for 2027.”
The company plans further investments in relevant communities to advance the next steps, which include continuing to negotiate Aboriginal Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) with Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory, discussions with the Energy Market Authority of Singapore regarding its conditional approval application for the subsea cable interconnection component, and discussions with the Indonesian government regarding regulatory and permitting matters to certify the subsea route, including sharing knowledge and hydrographic data.
The project is expected to deliver more than AUD20 billion (US$13.4 billion) to the Northern Territory's economic value during construction and its first 35 years of operation, and will create an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs each year during construction, with a peak workforce of 14,300.
Power supply is expected to start in the early 2030s.
