SunCable has announced a significant milestone for its Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project, having secured principal environmental approval from the Northern Territory government and the NT Environment Protection Authority.
This approval marks a crucial step forward, enabling the project to advance its development, commercial, and engineering activities toward a final investment decision (FID) targeted for 2027.
The AAPowerLink project is poised to be the world’s largest renewable energy and transmission initiative, aiming to establish a substantial renewable energy precinct in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.
The project will deliver up to 4GW of continuous green electricity to industrial customers in Darwin over two stages (900MW in Stage 1 and approximately 3GW in Stage 2) and 1.75GW to Singapore via a 4,300-kilometre subsea cable.
SunCable’s Managing Director, Cameron Garnsworthy, expressed his enthusiasm, stating: “SunCable is delighted to receive environmental approval from the Northern Territory government to proceed with our flagship Australia-Asia Power Link project.
“This approval allows us to progress the development, commercial, and engineering activities required to advance the project to final investment decision targeted in 2027.”
The project is expected to generate over $20 billion in economic value for the Northern Territory during its construction phase and the first 35 years of operation.
It will also create an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs annually during construction, with a peak workforce of 14,300.
Key infrastructure components covered by the environmental approval include:
- A solar generation and utility-scale storage site at Powell Creek with a generation capacity of up to 10GW.
- An approximately 800km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) overhead transmission line from the solar precinct to Murrumujuk, northeast of Darwin.
- The Darwin converter site, which will convert electricity from HVDC to High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) for connection to Darwin and then back to HVDC for transmission to Singapore.
- A subsea HVDC cable from the Darwin Converter Station to the Indonesian border.
The project also aims to integrate wind generation to reduce the levelised cost of energy for customers and continues to negotiate Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) with Traditional Owners across the project footprint.
SunCable’s AAPowerLink project has held Major Projects Status with the NT government since 2019 and the Commonwealth government since 2020. Infrastructure Australia has assessed the project as Investment Ready on its Priority Initiative List.
The environmental approval follows extensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement, reflecting SunCable’s commitment to community and environmental stewardship.