World's largest solar farm to be built in Australia

The Australia-ASEAN Power Link (AAPL) will take up about 12,000 hectares. In addition to being the world's largest solar farm, the AAPL will also incorporate the world's longest submarine power cable, which will export electricity from outback Australia to Singapore via a 4,500km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) network.

The project will also include a battery of around 22-30GWh capacity at Darwin, which will store the energy generated by the array at Newcastle Waters roughly 750km to the north, according to Construction reviews.

If all approvals are secured including environmental assessments, the construction work will start in 2023 and energy production will commence in 2026, the first exported electricity could be flowing in 2027.

Most of the project will export to Singapore with aiming to provide power for over one million Singaporeans and ultimately there are plans to provide power to Indonesians as well.

Eliza Danby, an infrastructure expert at Pinsent Masons, the law frim behind Out-law, said, “It is incredible to think that one fifth of Singapore’s electricity could be solar power captured from the Australian desert and supplied by a submarine cable, within a matter of years. The project will be significant not just for the Northern Territory, but for Australia and the region.”

In July the Northern Territory government awarded 'major project status' to AAPL by recognising its potential to "inject billions into the economy and create thousands of Australian jobs". Federal minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews, said the project would create 1,500 Australian jobs during construction, 350 ongoing jobs in Australia and indirectly support around 12,000 Australian jobs.