SunCable: Energy expert Bruce Mountain questions project’s commercial viability

An Energy expert has said Territorians should not have to spend a cent on a massive green energy project. Read what it is.

SunCable’s announcement it has been granted conditional approval to provide 1.75 gigawatts of low carbon electricity to Singapore via its Australia-Asia Power Link development has failed to persuade a prominent energy economist of the project’s viability.

Victoria University academic and Inaugural Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre Professor Bruce Mountain has charted the SunCable project and other proposed northern Australian developments from inception and believes the AAPower-Link in its current form to not be viable.

On Tuesday SunCable announced it had inked a conditional deal with Singapore’s Energy Market Authority to supply gas to Singapore.

SunCable also wants to produce four gigawatts of gas for Northern Territory industrial purposes.

Victoria University energy economist Bruce Mountain.

Professor Mountain questioned the concept of an “absolutely enormous generator” in the Northern Territory where there’s “plenty of sun and land” but very little domestic demand.

He is also sceptical of the Territory Government’s so-called Middle Arm sustainable development precinct.

“Countries interested in SunCable are a long way away and delivering the energy electricity involves enormous expense,” Professor Mountain said.

“Those markets have much less expensive and more reliable alternatives.

“I’m battling to see the competitive advantage in the current concept they have for it.”

He acknowledged the ambition of the project’s main backer, tech-billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, but said his erstwhile business partner Andrew Forrest had baulked at the Singapore model and wanted instead to concentrate on domestic solar generation.

“As long as SunCable is using its own money to get their project going, good luck to them,” Professor Mountain said.

“But from first being claimed to be a project primarily about export of electricity to Singapore, it is now clear that they are seeking to sell 70 per cent of their production in Darwin, with exports of the remaining 30 per cent at a later stage.

“SunCable has managed to spend a lot of money already on this and no doubt they will be trying to rope in the Northern Territory Government and the Commonwealth to help them recover lost ground.

Sun Cable’s project overview.

“It’s important to know the many different ways in which SunCable might have its hand out for public money directly, or through the subsidy of their intended Australia customers

and suppliers.

“Hopefully SunCable will see it is as their duty to be open and transparent about this.

“Even Dr Forrest with his enormous appetite for risk walked away. It’s possible something will be built but increasingly it is clear that their latest proposals are a long way from their starting point.”

Professor Mountain said there was no evidence that the remaining four companies the NT

Government had ‘Do not Deal’ agreements with to have first access to Middle Arm were seeking the $5 billion plus project that the Northern Territory Government is proposing.

“None of those companies asked for the five wharf harbour and deep dredging the NT

Government is promising and it follows therefore none would put their hands in their pockets in any meaningful way to pay for it.”

In August, federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek described SunCable as a “generation-defining piece of infrastructure” that would turn Australia into a “renewable energy superpower”.

SunCable has been contacted for comment.