SunCable’s $20bn NT boast despite cable contract heading south

Start-up solar energy company SunCable said it would deliver billions of dollars to the NT despite a key early contract heading south. Here’s how it will work in the Territory.

Start-up solar energy group SunCable said it was committed to delivering a huge economic bounty to the Northern Territory despite recent contract announcements that benefited interstate companies.

SunCable partner Quinbrook last week announced plans to develop a $10bn polysilicon plant in Townsville that was viewed as a potential rival to a proposed Maverick solar assembly plant promised by SunCable for East Arm.

On Sunday the company announced a lucrative cable project contract would be awarded to a Tasmanian company.

SunCable is proposing a Maverick solar array at Middle Arm.

But in a detailed response to questions from this publication, SunCable said the $35bn Australia-Asia Powerlink project would pump more than $20bn into the NT economy during construction and operation up until about 2070.

Described as the world’s largest renewable energy project, SunCable said the AA Powerlink would be one of the largest economic industrial developments in the Northern Territory.

It said during construction alone the project would generate up to $8bn of direct investment in Australia and create 1750 direct jobs.

In the Territory, the project would support on average 6800 direct and indirect jobs for each year of the construction phase, with a peak workforce of 14,300.

The permanent operational workforce will be about 350.

The company said the numbers, contained in an unreleased Territory Benefit Plan compiled by SunCable, were proof of the project’s NT focus.

“The plan includes strategies to develop the local and Indigenous workforce, employment and training outcomes and targets, and commit to the long-term development and inclusion of NT industry,” a spokesperson said.

“One such commitment is to establish a Renewable Centre of Excellence to create stronger links between academic learnings and best practice solutions for industry and build training outcomes in the renewable sector.”

SunCable is working with the Industry Capability Network NT to ensure Territory participation is maximised across the project’s construction and operation phases.

Mike Cannon-Brookes secured SunCable after a bitter dispute with Andrew Forrest.

At the weekend SunCable announced Bell Bay in Tasmania had been chosen as the preferred site to build an advanced high-voltage subsea cable manufacturing facility to deliver HVDC cable to the project.

If it goes ahead, the facility would deliver 800 construction jobs and 400 full-time advanced manufacturing jobs.

The spokesperson said the cable plant was never intended to be built in the Northern Territory.

A Quinbrook spokesperson said the proposed Townsville plant would manufacture solar panel components but the East Arm plant is focused on solar module assembly.

The SunCable project hit choppy waters at the start of the year when it was placed in receivership after a disagreement in direction between its two main investors, iron-ore baron Andrew Forrest and Grok Ventures Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Grok announced it had secured control of the project in September.

SunCable wants to generate 4GW of power from a solar precinct located near Elliott in the Northern Territory, transported to Darwin via a 800km overhead transmission line, from where energy would be sent to Singapore via a 4300km subsea cable.