Sun Cable Goes Into Administration in Australia

By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Thu, Jan 12th, 2023

Highlights :

The massive trans ocean project with renewable energy at its core was certainly the most ambitious to come out of the private sector in the past 5 years.
A likely reason for going into administration is disagreements between the two key backers.

Sun Cable Goes Into Administration in Australia

Trouble Before It Starts

Sun Cable, the massive solar developer aiming to build the world’s most ambitious power export project, has gone into administration in Australia. Sun Cable was planning to build the world’s largest solar+battery storage complex in the Northern Territory region of Australia, with plans to build an undersea cable across the sea to export power to Singapore as well. 20 GW of solar and 42 GWh of battery storage was planned as part of the project. The Australia-Asia Power Link Project (AAPL), as it was called, was widely touted as a breakthrough project for renewable energy exports.

The $30 billion Question

The project was to see construction start in 2024, after typing up further financing. First power was expected to start generation from 2027 to Darwin in Australia, with exports to Singapore slated for a start from 2029.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Sun Cable confirmed the appointment of FTI Consulting as voluntary administrators of the company. The obvious reason would be differences between it’s two key backers- tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes – who is also the chair of Sun Cable – and mining and metals magnate Andrew Forrest. But going into Administration might not mean the end of the firm, as it could be the precursor to a restructuring even.

Besides the AAPowerLink, Sun Cable currently has a portfolio of a further 11GW of proposed projects. There has also been talk of reorienting the project towards green hydrogen production by enhancing size of the renewable energy package.

Since being conceived in 2018, the project has made steady progress with approvals and support, including key passage rights from Indonesia, besides approval at state levels in Australia. Among the largest trans ocean projects conceived with renewable energy, the Sun Cable project has been among the biggest projects planned, ever since renewable costs came down to a level where entrepreneurs could consider the possibility of exporting energy. Sun Cable going into administration will certainly draw attention to the other projects, although we don’t believe it will have a material effect on plans yet.