World’s biggest solar project to add wind as new owners prepare to take charge

Wind will be added to a territory-building, and potentially nation-building, plan to send Australian solar power to Southeast Asia through the world’s longest undersea power cable.

But the completion of an asset sale agreement that would mark a clean break from Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s role in the $30 billion Sun Cable venture has been pushed out to early August.

The plan is to collect Northern Territory sunshine via a solar farm that is as big as a cattle station and supply renewable energy to Australia’s land-deprived trade partner Singapore.

A consortium led by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes’ investment arm Grok Ventures and international renewable energy developer Quinbrook has been formed to take charge of the project.

Wind and big batteries will be priorities in one of Australia’s largest renewable energy projects, which could have global emissions-busting significance because of its scale.

The project is in the early stages of liaising with potential providers for the onshore component that will also provide 800 megawatts of zero-emissions electricity to the Northern Territory.

Grok Ventures and Quinbrook met with Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in Darwin last week, ahead of the impending asset sale agreement.

Fyles said the project, formally known as the Australia-Asia PowerLink, would help the territory have a $40 billion economy by 2030.

Despite the change of ownership, the project will retain official major project status, bringing streamlined approvals and opening doors to territory offtake (energy supply) agreements.

“The AAPowerLink project will position the territory as a renewable energy powerhouse – powering territory industries with territory sunshine, creating new permanent jobs, and establishing a new export industry,” Ms Fyles said.

The pet project of Forrest and Cannon-Brookes collapsed after disagreement over its focus. Quinbrook stepped up to help Sun Cable out of administration in May and work with Grok on rolling out new energy generation assets.

Unlike Forrest who wanted clean power for future green hydrogen and steel, Cannon-Brookes intends to export most of the power to Singapore’s tech-heavy economy.

Grok will become majority owner of the $30 billion AAPowerLink project when the sale completes.

AAP