SunCable doubts remain as Townsville plan announced

There are concerns a new Townsville solar plan could impact Darwin’s role in SunCable project. Read what’s happened.

Uncertainty surrounding Sun Cable’s proposed $35bn NT investment is again bubbling away after a construction partner flagged a multi-billion dollar solar development in Townsville.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has announced plans to build a $10bn polysilicon plant in the northern Queensland city.

Polysilicon, short for polycrystalline silicon, is made from crystalline silicon and is essential in the development of many electronic devices and solar cells.

In March 2021 SunCable announced its own plans for solar construction when it lodged a development application to build a Maverick solar array assembly facility at East Arm.

The panels were planned for installation at Powell Creek near Elliott, about 450km south of Darwin, as part of Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia Powerlink.

An image of SunCable’s proposed Barkly solar farm.

Industry insiders are concerned that if operations in Townsville are targeted towards Sun Cable’s project, it could render the East Arm facility redundant.

They are concerned the lure of a large, accessible labour supply in Queensland might shift Sun Cable’s manufacturing focus from the NT.

Contacted for comment, Sun Cable was unable to offer assurances about the East Arm project, but said the Quinbrook development was “unrelated” to that proposed at East Arm.

“I can confirm that the polysilicon plant announcement is an unrelated investment within Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ portfolio,” the spokesman said.

“This is a separate project to AAPowerLink and the project is unrelated to the proposed development at East Arm.

“SunCable and Quinbrook will continue to evaluate procurement opportunities for AAPowerLink as the project progresses. Having Australian-produced polysilicate will assist in local security of supply for this critical mineral for renewables developments.”

Sun Cable’s $35bn plan to use NT sunshine to produce electricity to be shipped by a sub-sea cable to Singapore was thrown into turmoil in January when Andrew Forrest, one the project’s main backers, tried to reconfigure it to keep the NT solar farm but ditch the cable.

Project co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures partnered with Quinbrook in May after the split with Forrest.

Under the ambitious infrastructure plan, power would be delivered from the Barkly via an 800km overhead HDVC transmission to Darwin, from where 1.75GW of renewable electricity would be dispatched to Singapore via 4300km of subsea cables.

Sun Cable has a current land agreement with the Land Development Corporation.

Originally published as SunCable doubts remain as Townsville plan announced