SunCable's AAPowerLink project gets key environmental approval

The Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project, which aims to deliver almost 6 GW of renewables to customers in Australia and Singapore, has received principal environmental approval from the Northern Territory Government and NT Environment Protection Authority.

“This approval allows us to progress the development, commercial, and engineering activities required to advance the project to Final Investment Decision targeted in 2027," Cameron Garnsworthy, Managing Director of project developer SunCable Australia, said on Tuesday.

AAPowerLink, touted as the world's largest renewable energy and transmission project in development, aims to provide 4 GW of continuous green electricity to industrial clients in Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, with 900 MW planned for the first stage and a further around 3 GW in the second stage.

Additionally, it aims to deliver 1.75 GW of electricity to customers in Singapore through a 4,300 km subsea cable.

Power supply is planned to begin in the early 2030s.

The environmental approval covers key components of the flagship project, including solar generation and a large-scale storage facility at Powell Creek with a capacity of up to 10 GW; an 800 km high voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead transmission line stretching from the solar site to Murrumujuk, northeast of Darwin; the Darwin converter site, and a subsea HVDC cable extending from the converter station to the edge of Australian waters near the Indonesian border.

The green light was given after four periods of Territory-wide public consultation, along with ongoing stakeholder engagement since 2020.

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