In short:
The NT government has granted environmental approvals for SunCable’s massive solar project.
SunCable wants to build “the world’s largest renewable energy precinct” in the Northern Territory.
What’s next?
SunCable still needs to finance the project, with a final decision not expected until 2027.
SunCable’s project to develop “the world’s largest renewable energy precinct” in the remote Northern Territory has received crucial environmental approvals, but a final investment decision on the $30 billion-plus project is not expected until 2027.
The company plans to build a 10 gigawatt, 12,400-hectare solar farm near Elliott and transport electricity to Darwin via an 800-kilometre overhead transmission line, then on to Singapore through a subsea cable.
On Tuesday, the NT government approved the project, following recommendations from the NT Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA).
“The principal environmental approval is a huge milestone for the project,” SunCable NT regional director Jett Street said.
“It enables the project to progress with the different development activities that will take it to a final investment decision in 2027.”
NT Environment Minister Kate Worden said the project had “been through a rigorous environmental approval process”.
“The SunCable project … will be a great asset to the Territory as we move towards a renewable energy future,” Ms Worden said in a statement.
“This project will deliver thousands of jobs for Territorians and harness one of our greatest assets — the abundance of sunshine.”
The project is expected to create 1,750 jobs during construction and 350 jobs ongoing over its 70-year operational life, with SunCable claiming it could generate $20 billion in economic value to the NT.
SunCable was taken over by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in May 2023, after falling out with former project partner Andrew Forrest.
More approvals needed
SunCable still needs to negotiate Indigenous Land Use Agreements with a number of different traditional owner groups along the transmission line route to Darwin.
The Northern Land Council said it was supporting traditional owners to deal with SunCable.
“Without going into confidential matters, those negotiations are ongoing,” the spokesperson said.
SunCable is also investigating adding wind generation to the project and developing a second generation site to supply up to four gigawatts of electricity to Darwin.
The company is also looking at how to supply electricity to green energy customers in the controversial Middle Arm industrial precinct.
Ms Street rejected criticisms that SunCable’s energy could be used to greenwash projects at the industrial site near Darwin.
“This is an opportunity for the Northern Territory to be at the forefront of the global energy transition,” Ms Street said.
“The projects that we’ll be supplying at Middle Arm are new industries that are critical to reach the decarbonisation and climate change objectives of the world.”
SunCable said the project could help underpin “a new wave of green industrial development in the NT, via prospective projects that include green minerals, hydrogen, e-fuels, and data centres.”
Environmental risks identified
The NTEPA outlined a number of environmental risks from the project’s development, mainly surrounding the more than 12,000 hectares needed to be cleared for the solar farm.
Emissions from land clearing and construction are expected to total about 4.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent but would be carbon neutral after four years and “remain significantly carbon negative for the remainder of the operational life of 70 years”, according to a NTEPA assessment.
“The avoided emissions in the NT and Singapore across the life of [project] equate to an estimated combined total of 485 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent,” the NTEPA’s assessment report said.
The report said clearing at the solar farm site could change surface water flows in the Lake Woods catchment and potentially impact the threatened greater bilby, grey falcon, Gouldian finch, and yellow-spotted monitor.
The NTEPA said with SunCable’s proposed measures, the project could be managed “in a manner that is environmentally acceptable”.
Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday.
Posted , updated