Singapore-based manufacturer, Sun Cable has applied with the Development Consent Authority of Australia’s Northern Territory to build a facility that will manufacture Maverick solar array systems, designed by 5B. The first stage of the proposed manufacturing facility will pilot a semi-automated production line, which will improve the supply of the Maverick solar array systems to other solar farms across northern Australia. Phase two of the development will expand the facility to manufacture systems for the Australia-ASEAN Power Link (AAPL) and establish a logistics and distribution centre to transport material and equipment by rail to Sun Cable’s proposed 14 GW solar farm site.
Sun Cable plans to build the manufacturing facility in East Arm Business Park in Darwin, which is close to the city’s port. Sun Cable reports that the construction of the project will begin immediately after financial close in October 2023, with commercial operations to begin in 2027.
The AAPL project is potentially the largest storage integrated solar project in the world. It includes a 14 GW solar farm to be developed on a 12,000-hectare site at Powell Creek. Further, it will be coupled with an estimated 33 GWh of battery storage.
Once commissioned, the project will supply power to the Darwin region and Singapore via a 4,500-km, high-voltage direct-current transmission network. The network also includes a 750-km overhead transmission line from the solar farm to Darwin and a 3,800 km submarine cable, from Darwin to Singapore, via Indonesia. The project is expected to electricity to power more than 3 million homes a year with green energy.