Australia is soon going to become a renewable energy hub. The continent has faced the major burn of climate change in 2019.
It was the hottest year for Australia. The temperature reached 1.52C. The devastating forest fires were a result of the rise in temperature.
However, Australia is going to cut down the carbon emission by mobbing towards renewable energy. This continent is going to host one of the biggest and ambitious renewable energy projects.
Australia – ASEAN Power Link:
This renewable energy project is an initiative of Sun Cable. It is a Singapore-based company. It is a $16 billion worth project. There are three major components of this project. It will combine three major green technologies.
World’s Largest Solar Farm + Largest Battery + Longest Undersea Electric Cable
It will combine all these green technologies to supply renewable energy to Darwin and the ASEAN region. The northern Australian territory will get power from this project. It will also cover nearly 20% of Singapore’s electricity demand.
This project will go online in the next seven years. Apart from generating renewable energy, it will also generate jobs on the continent. During the construction phase, it will generate nearly 1,500 jobs. For operations, it will generate 350 jobs.
Solar Farm:
The 10 GW solar farm is a major part of this project. It will cover an area of 30,000 acres. The construction will take place in Australia’s sunny Northern Territory.
There will be about 9 million rooftop solar panels in this area. This solar farm will be connected with the battery to supply regular power.
- Battery:
Another major part of the project is the battery. The solar farm will connect with 30 GW per hour battery. It will be a storage facility.
The main reason to connect the solar farm with the battery is continuous dispatch of renewable energy.
The battery storage facility is going to be the largest in the world. It will be 155 times larger. The Hornsdale Power Reserve is the largest battery in the world. It is in Australia. It supplies 193.5 MW per hour. However, the battery in this project is going to surpass all the battery capacities in the world.
- Undersea Power Line:
Power lines help to transmit the power from one place to another. As the solar farm is in the middle of nowhere, it needs a power line to get the power out.
There will be 800 km overhead power line which will help to transmit the power out. It will transmit nearly 3 GW of power to Darwin. It is on the northern Australian coast.
From there, it will connect to another power line. Unlike the first one, this will be an undersea power line. It will be a 3,700 km long power line. Moreover, it will supply 2.2 GW of power to Singapore.
It is going to be the world’s longest power line. It will be five times longer than the Norway-to-Britain North Sea Link. This sea link will go online in 2021. It is a 720 km long line.
This new project is going to be a huge success for Australia. It is will not just help to generate more power but will help to tackle problems like climate change and employment.