Sun Cable has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesia’s energy ministry, moving closer to its goal to lay an undersea cable connecting a solar farm in Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore.
The MOU formalises collaboration between Sun Cable and ESDM to advance opportunities for renewable energy generation and transmission within Indonesia.
Sun Cable’s Indonesia president director Tim Anderson and Indonesia’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif announced the formal collaboration at the B20 Investment Forum and Indonesian Net Zero Summit on Nov 11.
Known as the business arm of the G20, the B20 is the official G20 dialogue forum for the global business community.
The collaboration was formalised with an MOU between Sun Cable’s Anderston and Senda Hurmuzan Kanam, the head of BBSP KEBTKE, Indonesia’s study and test centre for electricity, new and renewable energy and energy saving.
At the B20 summit, Indonesia’s investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia spoke about investment into Indonesia. Between 2019 and 2021, Australia had dropped off the list of top 10 foreign direct investors. Singapore, however, remained at number one.
Sun Cable plans to lay a 4,200 km high-voltage cable to supply enough electricity to meet 15% of Singapore’s demand from a giant solar and battery complex deep in the Outback. The project also plans to supply power to the northern Australian city of Darwin from late-2026.
Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) has been named in the 2022 G20 Presidency’s List titled “Action for Strong and Inclusive Recovery”, joining 25 other projects and initiatives.
“The list includes concrete actions, projects and initiatives aimed to advance international collaboration in order to recover together, recover stronger”, says Sun Cable in a Nov 18 press release.
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According to Sun Cable, the system would incorporate the world’s largest solar array and storage system, and intercontinental transmission, to deliver renewable electricity to Darwin and Singapore. The AAPowerLink is also forecast to potentially inject a total of US$2.5 billion into the Indonesian economy over the life of the project.
Sun Cable founder and CEO David Griffin says: “Sun Cable is honoured to partner with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as it shapes Indonesia’s policy and technical program for grid connectivity. We are looking to share Sun Cable’s expertise in solar energy generation and long-distance transmission with Indonesia as it shapes its policy and technical approach to inter-island connectivity.”
Indonesia’s energy and mineral resources minister Arifin Tasrif says: “Energy infrastructure is very important to connect the centres of great energy production to centres of high energy consumption. Thus, Indonesia is planning to build a super grid to address mismatch between renewable energy resources and the location of high electricity demand areas as well as maintaining the electricity system stability and security.”
Indonesia’s Ambassador to Australia H.E. Dr. Siswo Pramono: "Indonesia has some of the best renewable energy resources in Asia and many of the core capabilities to become a green industry powerhouse: access to a large workforce, access to critical mineral resources, access to renewable resources, and a strategic location at the heart of regional growth. This collaboration between ESDM and Sun Cable shows the commitment to optimise those potentials and to support our effort towards energy transition."
Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese says: “I had the pleasure to meet with global and Australian business leaders at the B20, reaffirming the need to work collaboratively across government and industry.”
Albanese adds: “When I came to Indonesia in June, I was joined by a large delegation of government ministers and senior business leaders: the head of the Business Council of Australia; the CEO of Commonwealth Bank; and representatives of major companies such as Wesfarmers, Fortescue, Bluescope, Sun Cable and Thales. All of them left here energised by the tremendous opportunities this nation and this region hold. And this B20 gathering, bringing together influential business leaders from around the world draws on that same spirit.”
