Singapore approves the import of solar power from Australia via an undersea cable

SunCable, the project's owner, announced on Tuesday that Singapore's energy regulator has given conditional approval to a multi-billion-dollar project to pipe solar electricity 2,672 miles (2,300 km) from Australia to Singapore.

The Energy Market Authority of Singapore granted conditional approval to SunCable after a thorough process to determine the project's technical and commercial viability.

SunCable, owned by Atlassian billionaire Mike CannonBrookes and based in Northern Australia, aims to generate 6 gigawatts of electricity on a large solar farm. A third of this will be shipped to Singapore using an undersea cable.

Suncable claims that the project will generate A$20 Billion ($13 Billion) in economic value to northern Australia.

The project's viability has been questioned, and Cannon-Brookes assumed control of the project after a disagreement with Andrew Forrest, Fortescue Metals founder and fellow owner.

Mitesh P. Patel, SunCable International Interim Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release that "today's announcement represents a vote in confidence for the commercial viability and technical viability" of SunCable International.

SunCable stated that the approval allowed it to move on to the next phase, which included its partnership with Indonesia whose waters the cable would have run through. SunCable plans to invest $2.5 billion over the life of the project in Indonesia.

The company announced on Tuesday that it had invested A$270 Million in the development of projects across three countries. The final investment decision will be made in 2027.

The project was approved by Australia's environmental authorities in August. Reporting by Lewis Jackson and editing by Ed Osmond.

(source: Reuters)