Australia to sell solar power to Singapore via undersea cables

• 26 May 2020
• Construction Focus
• 4324 Views

Australia is to launch a geological survey for a giant “Sun Cable Project” which will send solar energy through underwater cables to Singapore with an investment of US$13.1 billion, according to an article in the Bangkok Post on 25 May 2020.

The ambitious project aims to export power from a large solar power station in Australia to Singapore via a 3,800-kilometre submarine cable – crossing the Indian Ocean, the Timor-Leste Strait, central Indonesia, and crossing the Java Sea before reaching Singapore.

Atlassian co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Fortescue Metals founder, Andrew Forrest have already contracted with Australia-based Guardian Geomatics to conduct a geological survey for the high voltage cable extension.

“This initial survey is a huge step towards realising the multi billion-dollar project,” a representative of Guardian Geomatics said in a press release. The project is described as exporting ‘sunshine’ to Asia.”

The representative of the Sun Cable Project said that this mega project will supply Singapore with a fifth (20%) of its power, which will hugely reduce this Asian Dragon state’s reliance on natural gas imports.

It also plans to connect power to Indonesia and plans to start commercial operations (energy sales) from 2027 onward.

At the same time, the company is also installing a large battery with a capacity of 50 megawatts near Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, the state closest to Asia.  Initially, the battery station was built to back up power to the local grid. But later, the company plans to make it part of a larger power storage system to supply power to the “Australia – ASEAN Power Link Project”. Construction of the battery station is scheduled to begin in 2021 and its commissioning will start from 2022.

• Energy and Environment