Singapore is one of Asia's biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters, but it’s trying to change that.
The island nation has already invested in floating solar farms to help meet its energy needs, but limited space and rising real estate prices aren’t helping. On the other hand, Australia has plenty of space and sun, which is why the two will soon be joined by a giant cable.
A colossal $22-billion infrastructure project will send Australian sunshine roughly 3,100 miles (5,000 km) to Singapore in one of the most massive and ambitious renewable energy projects ever attempted.
Led by the Australian firm Sun Cable, the project aims to activate its high-voltage undersea cable in 2027. But first, it needs to build the world's largest solar farm and battery storage facility, with construction set to begin in 2023.
The infrastructure project will create the "Powell Creek Solar Precinct" in Australia's Northern Territory on 12,000 hectares of unused land roughly 500 miles (800 km) south of Darwin. It'll generate 17 to 20 GW of peak solar electricity and will house a vast battery storage facility. This is 10 times larger than the largest solar farm today, the roughly 2.2-GW Bhadla Solar Park in India.
Without sacrificing environmental benefits, Sun Cable says the project will generate up to 15 percent of Singapore's electricity, enough to power about 3 million homes while reducing CO2 emissions by 11.5 million tons, or the equivalent of clearing 2.5 million cars off the road.
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