(Bloomberg) — The first phase of one of the world’s most ambitious renewable energy projects has received environmental approval, clearing the way for a billionaire-funded plan to export solar power from Australia to Singapore.
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The Australian government on Wednesday approved the first phase of the A$30 billion ($20 billion) AAPowerLink project, the developer of which, SunCable, was bought by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in May last year.
The connection involves a 4,300-kilometer (2,670-mile) undersea electricity cable connecting a solar farm in Australia’s Northern Territory with more than 20 gigawatts of capacity to the city-state, which lacks enough land to generate sufficient renewable energy itself. Both the cable and the solar farm would be more than four times the size of any currently operating internationally.
“This massive project is a generation-defining piece of infrastructure,” Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement. “It will be the largest solar park in the world – and heralds Australia as a global leader in green energy.”
The first phase consists of 4 gigawatts of solar panels and an 800-kilometre overhead cable to Darwin.
SunCable will focus on advancing AAPowerLink to a final investment decision in 2027 and aims to begin exporting electricity in the early 2030s, it said. It still needs approvals from indigenous groups in Australia, as well as Singapore and Indonesia.
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