Australia gives the green light to the world's “largest” solar center August 21, 2024

Australia is moving ahead with plans for a major solar project, with energy production set to begin in 2030

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Australia gives the green light to the world's “largest” solar center

Australia on Wednesday approved plans for a huge solar and battery park that would export energy to Singapore, a project billed as the “world's largest solar enclosure”.

Authorities announced the environmental approvals for SunCable's $24 billion project in Australia's remote north, which is expected to power three million homes.

The project, which will include a series of panels, batteries, and finally a cable linking Australia to Singapore, is backed by tech billionaire and environmental activist Mike Cannon-Brookes.

“It will be the largest solar energy area in the world and will herald Australia as a world leader in green energy,” said Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Energy production is expected to begin in 2030, providing four gigawatts of energy for domestic use.

Another two gigawatts would be sent to Singapore via an undersea cable, supplying around 15% of the city-state's needs.

SunCable Australia's managing director, Cameron Garnsworthy, said the approval was “a landmark moment in the project's journey”.

Several approval processes and other hurdles remain despite Wednesday's green light.

The project depends on approval from Singapore's energy market authority, the Indonesian government, and Australia's indigenous communities.

Singapore's energy market authority said in a statement that it was in “discussions with Sun Cable on its proposal to import electricity into Singapore”, but gave no further details.

Garnsworthy said: “SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a final investment decision expected in 2027.”

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Countries around the world are rushing to put large solar projects into operation to ease the transition away from polluting fossil fuels.

China is leading the way and is building almost double the wind and solar capacity of all other countries combined.

China commissioned the 3.5-gigawatt Midong solar park this year, its largest installation to date.

In contrast, Australia remains one of the world's leading exporters of coal and gas, despite being plagued by the effects of climate change, from intense heat to floods and bushfires.

And while Australians are among the world's most enthusiastic adopters of home solar panels, several governments have been reluctant to embrace renewable energy.

Renewables accounted for 32% of Australia's total electricity generation in 2022, compared to coal, which contributed 47%, according to the latest government figures.

Plibersek celebrated the project as a way of meeting Australia's projected energy deficit and creating “14,300 new jobs in northern Australia”.

Ken Baldwin, director of the Energy Change Institute at the Australian National University, said the project was the “first in the world” to export renewable electricity from solar and wind power 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 power at one of the fastest rates of any country in the world on a per capita basis,” he told AFP.

This momentum must continue, Baldwin said, especially if Australia is to achieve its net-zero emissions targets by 2050.

“In the last five years, Australia has invested heavily in solar and wind energy, but it needs to double and triple that investment to achieve its climate trajectory towards a net zero future by 2050.”

He said Australia will need around 100 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity by the 2030s. The SunCable project will provide just four gigawatts of that need.

Amanda McKenzie, chief executive of the Climate Council, said the new solar hub was a bold step towards making Australia a “clean energy powerhouse” and that these projects were essential to “providing affordable energy and reducing climate pollution”.

“With the closure of coal-fired power stations on the horizon, Australia needs to accelerate the deployment of solar and storage at all levels: rooftops, large-scale projects, and everything in between,” she said.

The project would also be a significant step for Cannon-Brookes, who once described the project as “insane” before becoming an enthusiastic investor.

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