Electricity demand in the Asia Pacific is set to increase by 70 per cent by 20402 and more than double by 2050.
Asia-Pacific governments face extraordinary challenges in meeting demand in a sustainable way.
Realising our ambitions starts with three landmark SunCable projects.
AAPowerLink (Australia-Asia Power Link)
SunCable’s flagship development project, Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink), will harness and store renewable energy from one of the most reliably sunny places – Australia’s Northern Territory – for 24/7 transmission to Darwin and Singapore via a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system. The project includes the development of the world’s biggest integrated renewable energy and battery storage facility in the heart of the Northern Territory which could over multiple stages have a capacity of up to 6GW of renewable energy to Darwin and Singapore. This project will continue to be developed by SunCable’s management team with support from Grok Ventures.
AAPowerLink plans to capture the electricity harvested from a giant integrated renewable energy and battery complex on Powell Creek in the Barkly region Northern Territory, and transmit this through ~800km of overhead transmission to the Darwin region and then on to Singapore via 4,300km of subsea cables.
The overhead transmission line will generally follow the footprint of the Alice Springs to Darwin Railway Corridor. Overhead transmission will reduce the disturbance footprint for construction and maintenance, increase safety, allow flexibility in route selection through the ability to span sensitive receptors like water courses, habitats, and sacred sites, enable the infrastructure to coexist with other infrastructure, and free land underneath the lines for alternative uses.
Impact and delivery
The integrated AAPowerLink project is all about harnessing the Northern Territory’s extraordinary renewable energy power to help Australia and Singapore realise their ambitions in global renewables leadership. AAPowerLink is a once in a generation scale infrastructure project, backed by a compelling scientific, economic and social evidence base that is set to deliver a triple win for the Asia Pacific Region’s economies, environments and communities.
AAPowerLink will underpin a new wave of green industrial development in Darwin, create new renewable energy export markets for Australia and pioneer smarter technology for renewable energy transmission.
AAPowerLink has the potential to create thousands of jobs, a host of opportunities for local businesses and suppliers, plus investment in Australia, Singapore and Indonesia. The project has been awarded Major Project status by the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments and has also been added to Infrastructure Australia’s Priority Initiative List. SunCable is highly motivated by the important contribution that AAPowerLink will make to the economy and employment prospects not only in the Northern Territory, but throughout Australia and internationally.
AUD ~$8billion investment in Australia
Up to 1,750 direct jobs
~350 long term operational jobs
~12,000 indirect jobs
DarwinLink
DarwinLink is the Australian onshore component of AAPowerLink and includes the development of the world’s biggest integrated renewable energy zone on Powell Creek in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory, along with 800km of overhead HDVC transmission to the Darwin region. The project plans to deliver up to 4GW of 24/7 renewable electricity to the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct, to underpin a new wave of green industrial development.
Housed on a site as big as a cattle station – and visible from space – our integrated renewable energy zone will include solar PV generation, energy storage and voltage source converter. The energy harvested from the zone will be used to supply both DarwinLink and AAPowerLink energy exports.
SunCable is owned by a consortium led by Grok Ventures. The AAPowerLink project will continue to be developed by SunCable’s management team, with a regional headquarters in Darwin, Northern Territory. Grok Ventures has appointed Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (QIP) to lead the development of DarwinLink component of the AAPowerLink project. QIP have a proven track record of delivering large-scale renewable projects in the USA and UK, adding further global expertise to the DarwinLink project.
DarwinLink is expected to generate ~$8billion worth of investment and ~1750 direct jobs in Australia during the construction phase. Once complete, the project has an operating life of 70 years; which is where the project can really deliver intergenerational benefits to the Barkly region and the Northern Territory. The operations phase anticipated 350 permanent jobs, and a range of contract and business enterprise opportunities for the region.
SingaporeLink
SingaporeLink is the international component of the AAPowerLink project, focused on developing the offshore transmission system extending from Darwin to Singapore (via Indonesian waters). From the Northern Territory, 4,300km of subsea cables will transmit renewable power through Indonesia to deliver 1.75GW of 24/7 renewable electricity to Singapore.
SingaporeLink is designed to supply up to 15 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity needs and diversify its technology mix in electricity (which is currently 95 per cent gas and seeking reduction). It will also diversify the country of origin for energy imports. All of this provides more resilience for Singapore’s grid.
Sun Cable has regional offices in Singapore and Indonesia to facilitate the development of the project in these jurisdictions.
CableLink
In addition to the AAPowerLink project, SunCable is set to establish an advanced High Voltage (HV) subsea cable manufacturing and testing facility, with AAPowerLink as an anchor customer. SunCable is in discussions with established global subsea cable manufacturers to jointly develop, construct and operate this facility.
The new cable plant will see substantial new investment and create approximately 800 – 1000 direct jobs during the construction phase of the project. The operational phase will require over 400 longterm advanced manufacturing roles. This facility will expand the supply of advanced HV subsea cable globally and will be a critical enabler not only of SunCable but also for other high priority renewable generation and transmission projects, including offshore wind in Australia and around the world.
Substantial
new investment
Up to ~1000 direct jobs
Significant additional annual economic output
Over 400 long term manufacturing jobs