Australian billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest have invested $152 million (£116 million) into a 4,200-kilometre undersea cable link that will deliver solar electricity to Singapore.
The Sun Cable project, which will be the world’s longest undersea high voltage direct current cable, is being funded by Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures and Squadron Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mr Forrest’s privately held investment firm Tattarang.
Sun Cable’s flagship project, the AAPowerLink will harness and store solar energy from the Northern Territory in Australia and transmit it to Darwin and Singapore.
David Griffin, Sun Cable Founder & CEO said: “We have developed a world leading capability in four short years. We are thrilled to have materially strengthened our resources with the support of all of our shareholders, who are such strong advocates for our mission.
“This capital raise will enable the delivery of renewable solar power from Australia to Singapore, advance our other multi gigawatt scale projects, and support the progress of key facilitating assets.
“We are buoyed by the level of support from our investors and key stakeholders including governments, offtakers, suppliers, and the communities in which we operate.
Dr Andrew Forrest AO, Chairman of Tattarang, added: “Sun Cable’s vision will transform Australia’s capability to become a world-leading generator and exporter of renewable electricity and enable decarbonisation.
“I’m proud to be a cornerstone investor in Sun Cable, its team and its vision. This capital raise is a critical step in developing the Australia-Asia PowerLink and I applaud Sun Cable realising this mission.”
In November the UK and Indian governments launched an initiative called ‘Green Grids’ to accelerate the development and deployment of interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries and communities, and improve energy access of the poorest through mini-grids and off-grid solutions.
Although solar energy is becoming cheaper than dirtier alternatives, countries cannot rely on it at night and must fall back on fossil fuels that produce earth-warming greenhouse gases. This is especially the case in countries like India, where demand for power is soaring.
The new project is based on the idea that the sun is always shining in some part of the world, and the project aims to create a global grid that will transfer solar energy from one place to another, said Ajay Mathur, the director general of the International Solar Alliance.
