Environmental approval granted for Australian plan to export solar electricity to Singapore

Canberra: Authorities in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) on Tuesday granted environmental approval for the world's largest renewable energy and transmission project.

The NT government and NT Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) granted principal environmental approval for SunCable's Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) projected, Xinhua news agency reported.

The project aims to supply renewable energy to customers in Darwin, capital of the NT, and also to Singapore via a 4,300 km undersea cable from the early 2030s onwards.

Over two stages of development SunCable is aiming to develop the world's largest renewable energy precinct and deliver up to four gigawatts (GW) of electricity to Darwin and 1.75GW to Singapore.

According to SunCable the AAPowerLink is the world's largest renewable energy and transmission project in development.

Electricity will be generated and stored at a solar farm with a generation capacity of up to 10GW in the Barkly region of the NT over 600 km south of Darwin before being transmitted to Darwin and on to Singapore.

Environmental approval has been granted for the generation and storage site, a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line from the precinct to Darwin, a Darwin converter station and an undersea HVDC cable from the converter to the end of Australian territorial waters at the border with Indonesia.

Cameron Garnsworthy, managing director of SunCable, said in a statement that the approval would provide significant momentum to the project.

"SunCable is founded with the belief that Australia can lead the world's energy transition," he said.

"AAPowerLink presents a unique opportunity for the Northern Territory to be at the forefront of this global shift through the development of its world-class renewable energy resources to supply customers in Darwin and Singapore with 24/7 green electricity."

SunCable estimates the project will deliver more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13.4 billion) in economic value to the NT during the construction period and the first 35 years of operation.

The AAPowerLink was granted major project status by the NT government in 2019 and by the federal government in 2020.