NT government signs agreement with Sun Cable to develop largest solar farm in world
The company behind a plan to build the world’s largest solar farm in the Territory and send electricity to Singapore has opened the project’s headquarters in Darwin, as a new agreement with the NT government puts it in the “fast lane”.
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THE company behind a plan to build the world’s largest solar farm in the Territory and send electricity to Singapore has opened the project’s headquarters in Darwin, as a new agreement with the NT government puts it in the “fast lane”.
Sun Cable, the company behind the $22bn solar farm and battery storage facility, backed by billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest, on Thursday signed a development agreement with the NT government.
Within hours it had ticked off a commitment laid out in the agreement, with the company confirming it had opened its Darwin office and would over time be adding more employees to its northern base.
Under the agreement, Sun Cable will establish a renewable centre of excellence in the Territory, though a location is yet to be determined.
The company will also prepare a “Territory Benefits Plan”, which includes a strategy to maximise jobs and procurement for locals.
But there are no consequences if these agreed targets aren’t reached, Chief Minister Michael Gunner confirmed, referring to the document as a “governance” road map to help Sun Cable and the government “work together”. “This puts the project in the fast lane, not cutting corners, but making sure that key decisions can be made quickly,” Mr Gunner said.
This includes on land tenure and commercial arrangements ahead of the project hitting financial close.
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Sun Cable’s plan is to use a 12,000ha site near Elliot, 200km from Tennant Creek, to build a 10 gigawatt solar farm and 30 gigawatt battery, then a transmission line in the Barkly region to connect the system to Darwin. From Darwin, a 3750km undersea cable will connect the project to Singapore.
Sun Cable will also build a battery next to the Weddell Power Station, where it will store up to 800 megawatts of electricity, to be released into the Darwin Katherine electricity grid when required.
Sun Cable chief executive David Griffin said the “very existence of our infrastructure” would improve the reliability of the entire Darwin Katherine system.
The project is still three years away, with Sun Cable expecting to start construction in late 2023.
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The project is expected to create 1500 construction jobs and 350 ongoing jobs.
Electricity transmission to Darwin is expected by 2026, and onward to Singapore by 2027, providing the republic with up to 20 per cent of its power needs. Mr Griffin revealed Sun Cable was yet to sign any agreements with Singapore about the project, saying while the country was “enthusiastic”, there were several non-negotiable criteria around the reliability of supply that needed to be met.
“We have to ensure that our supply is at least equal to the level of reliability that they currently enjoy,” he said.
“We’re up to the challenge on that.”
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