Could a US$14 billion Australian solar farm provide a fifth of Singapore’s energy?

Singapore firm Sun Cable plans to provide a fifth of the city’s energy through an undersea cable linked to a solar farm 3,800km away in Australia.

Experts – and billionaire backers – say that’s not as crazy as it might sound, even if it is commercially risky

Reading Time:5 minutes

Singapore’s Sun Cable plans to build a solar farm in the Northern Territory, Australia. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:10am, 6 Jul 2020Updated: 6:30am, 6 Jul 2020

Deep in the Australian desert, the world’s largest solar farm is being built.

Its aim is ambitious: much of the power generated will be exported 3,800km to Singapore via a high-voltage, direct current submarine cable slung across the sea floor.

The farm, estimated to cost at least A$20 billion (US$13.7 billion), will have an array of 10-gigawatt solar panels spread across 15,000 hectares and will be supported by a 22GWh storage plant. Sun Cable, the Singapore firm behind the project, hopes it can produce up to 20 per cent of the country’s energy requirements.

About 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated from natural gas, with most coming from imported liquid natural gas (LNG). Singapore’s leaders have said the country will ramp up its solar energy output.

The finer details of who will buy the power on the Singapore end have not been confirmed, but iSwitch, one of Singapore’s top electricity retailers and the country’s largest green retailer, has shown a keen interest.

Andrew Koscharsky, chief commercial officer at iSwitch, said Singapore’s appetite for clean energy was growing and that the plan was a “win-win” for everyone.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x