Australia announces plans to build the "largest" solar power plant in the world

Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the vast solar farm would produce enough energy to power 3 million homes and would include panels, batteries and, eventually, a cable linking Australia to Singapore.

“This will be the largest solar zone in the world, making Australia the world leader in green energy,” Ms Plibersek said.

This solar farm is expected to provide 4 gigawatts of energy per hour for national use. 2 other gigawatts will be sent to Singapore, covering 15% of the city-state's needs.

The batteries could additionally store up to 40 gigawatts.

Known as SunCable, this 12.000 hectare project is located in the sun-drenched Northern Territory. Costed at 21 billion euros, it is backed by technology billionaire and environmental activist Mike Cannon-Brookes.

This solar power plant is due to start producing energy in 2030.

It is estimated that it will allow the creation of “14.300 jobs in northern Australia,” said the Australian Minister of the Environment.

The green light from the Australian government is "an important moment in the evolution of the project", said SunCable Australia managing director Cameron Garnsworthy.

But this still has to go through several stages before seeing the light of day. It will have to be approved by a series of actors, such as the Singapore Energy Market Regulatory Authority, the Indonesian government and indigenous communities in Australia.

Singapore's energy market regulator, for its part, said in a brief statement that it was "in discussions with SunCable on its proposal to supply electricity to Singapore", but provided no further details.

“Clean energy power”

“SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a final investment decision planned for 2027,” Mr Garnsworthy said.

This solar power plant is a key step in making Australia a “clean energy power”, underlined Amanda McKenzie, general director of the NGO Climate Council.

Such projects are essential to "providing affordable energy and reducing climate pollution", she added.

Ken Baldwin, director of a research center at the Australian National University in Canberra, calls the project a "world's first" for the export of electricity from solar and wind.

However, Canberra must continue this momentum if the country is to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Australia "has invested heavily in solar and wind energy over the past five years, but it must double and triple this investment" to meet its objective, Mr. Baldwin said.

In May, Canberra announced plans to use natural gas beyond 2050, saying its dependence on this fossil fuel would not prevent it from reaching zero emissions in the next 30 years.

Australia is currently one of the world's leading exporters of coal and gas, but is severely affected by the effects of climate change (intense heat, floods and bushfires).

In 2022, renewable energy accounted for 32% of Australia's total electricity generation, compared to 47% for coal, according to the latest government data.