Civil Engineering January-February 2022 | Vol 30 No 1

24 January/February 2022 Civil Engineering B echtel, Hatch, Marsh, PwC Australia and SMEC (a member of the Surbana Jurong Group) provide a powerhouse of world-leading expertise — each company across different areas, to drive the future of renewable energy in Australia and the Indo-Pacific: Q Q Bechtel: project delivery Q Q Hatch: HVDC transmission Q Q Marsh: risk management Q Q PwC Australia: project advisory Q Q SMEC: solar generation system. Each carefully selected company has a proven track record in developing and delivering complex infrastructure pro- jects, together with a strong commitment to renewable energy giga-projects and providing global solutions to achieve net zero targets. Their combined experience across environmental, social and govern- ance frameworks will also be essential in delivering a project of such scale and significance. “To secure the support of these glob- ally recognised experts is an important vote of confidence in the significance and feasibility of Sun Cable’s AAPowerLink. Sun Cable is proud to have the expertise of Bechtel, Hatch, SMEC, Marsh, and PwC Australia reinforcing our team, as we deliver this game-changing infrastructure for Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. This project is designed to significantly accelerate the carbon zero ambitions of the region and we have brought together a dream team to bring it to fruition,” says David Griffin, CEO of Sun Cable. WORLD-FIRST RENEWABLE SYSTEM The AAPowerLink will create a game- changing, world-first renewable energy infrastructure system. Sun Cable will integrate a range of technologies and infrastructure to develop one of the world’s largest solar farms, to be located in the Northern Territory of Australia (17 GW p to 20 GW p ); the world’s largest battery (36 GWh to 42 GWh); and the world’s longest undersea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable system from Darwin to Singapore (approximately 4 200 km). The AAPowerLink will be a high- capacity solar generation, storage, and transmission system that will transmit reliable, dispatchable renewable electricity from the Barkly Region of the Northern Territory to Darwin and Singapore mar- kets. Its key components are: Q Q a solar farm precinct including energy storage and voltage source converter (VSC) Q Q an HVDC overhead transmission line from the solar farm to Darwin Q Q VSCs and a utility-scale battery in Darwin Q Q a subsea HVDC cable system from Darwin to Singapore Q Q Cable transition facilities to enable transition of power cables between land and sea in Darwin and Singapore Q Q a VSC and utility-scale battery in Singapore. The project is expected to begin construc- tion from late 2023, with first supply of electricity to Darwin in 2026 and first electricity to Singapore in 2027 (full capacity by end of 2028). Following the recent granting of the subsea cable route recommendation from the Indonesian Government and approval to undertake the next stage of the subsea cable survey, the appointment of the project management team is the next key milestone in delivering reliable, renewable energy from Australia to Asia. MEETING ELECTRICITY NEEDS Sun Cable is developing the AAPowerLink to provide renewable electricity to Darwin, in support of the Northern Territory’s ambition to develop an AUD$40 bil- lion economy by 2030. In recognition Global expert team to deliver Australia-Asia PowerLink Project One of the world’s largest renewable energy infrastructure projects, the more than AUD$30 billion Australia- Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), which will supply renewable electricity to Darwin and Singapore, has reached a milestone with the announcement of the Integrated Project Delivery Team. AAPowerLink will harness Australia’s solar energy resources to deliver renewable electricity to Darwin and Singapore