Australia has given the green light to what the Australian government says will be the largest solar energy project on the planet, a photovoltaic plant with a capacity of up to 6 gigawatts (GW) that will be located in the north of the country.
The Australian government’s approval confirms the country’s desire to become a “superpower” in renewable energy, given that coal and gas account for more than a fifth of the value of goods sold by the country to the stranger.
Australia, one of the world’s biggest polluters when fossil fuel exports are taken into account, aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 205 million tonnes by 2030.
12,000 hectares
Australia’s immense land mass is 70% desert and plenty of sunshine, making it home to what will be “the world’s largest solar farm and will make Australia a world leader in solar energy.” “renewable energy,” Australian Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement.
The long-awaited Suncable project, to be built between the towns of Elliot and Tennant Creek in Australia’s Northern Territory, will cover 12,000 hectares and produce “nearly six times the amount of energy of a reactor 700 megawatt nuclear power plant,” she said.
The project, whose construction date has not been specified, will be carried out by the Australian Renewable Energy Corporation and is expected to produce enough electricity to power 3 million homes and possibly export some to Singapore, according to the Ministry of Energy press release. the environment.
A regulatory step
The company says it has reached “another significant regulatory milestone by receiving approval from the Commonwealth Government for the Australian component of its flagship Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project”.
So far, project information has pointed to very ambitious goals, such as building a large solar panel farm in the north of the country to generate up to 20 gigawatts of electricity. What was known until now is that it would be accompanied by the installation of batteries large enough to distribute energy 24 hours a day.
Furthermore, this mega-investment in solar energy in Australia can also be explained by the fact that a 4,200 kilometer cable will then be laid to send electricity to Singapore in order to cover 15% of the city’s needs. -State.
An investment of 20 billion euros
Australia’s solar power project could require €20 billion or more and it is expected that “the final investment decision (FID) on the project will be made in 2027 and electricity supply will begin in early 2020.” 2030s,” the Australian energy company said.
This announcement reduces Suncable’s ambitions by 14 gigawatts compared to forecasts and continues to raise doubts about the viability of exporting electricity via cable to Singapore, especially if the latter intends to produce energy in the medium term renewable, an energy which would be cheaper and which would make it possible to decouple external dependence.
Solar farm in Australia
Job creation
Mr Plibersek added that the project would also boost the isolated region’s economy, creating more than 14,300 jobs, under “strict conditions” aimed at protecting local habitat.
However, Suncable refines the figures given by the minister, explaining that “the project will generate an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs for each year of the construction phase in the Northern Territory, with a maximum workforce of 14 300 people.”
Suncabel notes that “AAPowerLink is one of the largest energy infrastructure projects ever approved by the EPBC Act, covering an area of approximately 2,000km from the heart of the Northern Territory to the maritime border with the Australia and Indonesia.
Indigenous lands
SunCable says it will continue to invest in communities in the Northern Territory, Singapore and Indonesia to advance the next phase, which includes “continued negotiations on Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUA) with traditional owners throughout the Northern Territory project area.”
Additionally, the company intends to “engage with the Energy Market Authority of Singapore on the application for conditional approval of the submarine cable interconnection component of the project, and also to engage with the Indonesian government on regulatory and licensing issues to demonstrate the underwater route, including sharing knowledge and hydrographic data,” the energy company said.
The Anthony Albanese Labor government has said in the past that it aspires to make Australia a “superpower” in renewable energy, because the oceanic country is full of the building blocks for the future of clean energy, such as as lithium, cobalt, copper, rare earths and essential minerals.