Australia-Singapore power link firm in administration

Australia-Singapore solar power operator Sun Cable has entered voluntary administration after its shareholders failed to agree on funding and company objectives.

This jeopardised its proposed A$30bn ($20.7bn) Australia-Asia PowerLink project connecting the Northern Territory (NT) to Singapore via a 4,200km high-voltage power transmission cable, which was due to start construction next year.

Sun Cable's backers included Andrew Forrest, the largest shareholder in Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals, which has a renewable energy arm Fortescue Future Industries. It was also backed by Australian technology entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes who is a prominent supporter of renewable energy.

The project included construction of a 3,200MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power cable to transmit electricity to Singapore. The electricity would be generated from a 17-20GW solar farm, with up to 42,000MWh of battery storage, south of NT's capital Darwin. The HVDC subsea cables would transmit around 2,000MW of electricity from Darwin to Singapore, with 800MW from the project used to power Darwin.

Sun Cable said it hopes to access additional capital to continue developing the project and will likely seek expressions of interest for either a recapitalisation or sale of the business.

By Amandeep Parmar