Daily News
Australia Approves Plans for $24 Billion Solar and Battery Farm
Australia has approved plans for what is expected to be the “largest solar precinct in the world,” a huge solar and battery farm that will export power to Singapore through a 4,300km undersea cable.
The project, being developed by SunCable and backed by tech billionaire and green activist Mike Cannon-Brookes, received environmental approvals for its $24 billion investment in Australia’s remote north. It will include an array of panels, batteries and eventually, the cable linking Australia with Singapore. It is hoped that energy production will begin in 2030.
Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said that the 29,650-acre solar farm would create 14,300 jobs and transform Australia into a “renewable energy superpower,” helping to meet the growing demand for renewable energy at home and abroad. “This massive project is a generation-defining piece of infrastructure. It will be the largest solar precinct in the world – and heralds Australia as the world leader in green energy,” Plibersek said in a statement.
The project will generate 4 GW (gigawatts) of clean energy per hour for domestic use. 2GW more sent to Singapore via undersea cable would supply about 15% of the city-state’s needs. Along with this, the batteries would be able to store about 40 GW of clean power.
SunCable Australia’s managing director Cameron Garnsworthy said the approval was “a landmark moment in the project’s journey.” Despite the green light, numerous approval processes remain, including working with Singapore’s energy market authority, Indonesia’s government and Australian Indigenous communities. “SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a final investment decision targeted by 2027,” said Garnsworthy.
Australia is currently one of the world’s leading exporters of coal and gas, but has also been greatly impacted by the effects of climate change, from intense heat to floods and bushfires. In 2022, renewables made up 32% of Australia’s total electricity generation, compared to coal which contributed 47%, according to the latest government data.
Director of the Energy Change Institute at the Australian National University, Ken Baldwin, said the project was a “world first” for exporting renewable electricity from solar and wind on such a scale. “Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources of any country, and as a result, is installing solar and wind at one of the fastest rates of any country in the world on a per capita basis,” he told AFP.
But this momentum must continue, particularly if Australia is to meet its net zero targets by 2050, Baldwin said, “Australia has, over the last five years, invested heavily in solar and wind, but it needs to double and triple that investment in order to reach its climate trajectory towards a net zero future by 2050.”
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Sources
https://news.az/news/australia-greenlights-24b-solar-and-battery-farm-to-export-energy-to-singapore