Plans for the world's largest renewable energy precinct have been approved by the Northern Territory EPA. 

The SunCable Australia-Asia Powerlink Project, valued at over $30 billion, aims to build a 10-gigawatt solar farm across 12,400 hectares near Elliott, NT, and deliver electricity to Darwin through an 800-kilometre overhead transmission line, with further transmission to Singapore via a subsea cable.

While the environmental approval represents a crucial step forward, SunCable must still secure financing, with a final investment decision expected in 2027. The project’s timeline anticipates the commencement of electricity production in the 2030s.

The NT Environment Minister, Kate Worden, has highlighted the project's rigorous approval process and its potential benefits. 

“The SunCable project... will be a great asset to the Territory as we move towards a renewable energy future,” she said. 

“This project will deliver thousands of jobs for Territorians and harness one of our greatest assets - the abundance of sunshine.”

SunCable expects to generate 1,750 jobs during the construction phase and 350 ongoing positions over the project's 70-year lifespan. 

Additionally, the company projects the initiative will contribute approximately $20 billion to the NT economy.

Despite the environmental approval, SunCable still faces several hurdles before reaching its final investment decision. 

Negotiations for Indigenous Land Use Agreements with traditional owner groups along the transmission line route to Darwin remain ongoing. 

A spokesperson from the Northern Land Council has confirmed the group’s support for traditional owners in these negotiations but refrained from discussing specifics.

Reports say SunCable is also exploring the integration of wind generation into the project and plans for a second generation site to supply up to four gigawatts of electricity to Darwin. 

The company is reportedly looking at ways to provide electricity to green energy consumers within the Middle Arm industrial precinct, addressing concerns about potential greenwashing of industrial projects.

The NT Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA) identified several environmental risks, primarily associated with clearing over 12,000 hectares for the solar farm. 

Project emissions from land clearing and construction are estimated at 4.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent. 

However, the NTEPA's assessment predicts the project will become carbon neutral within four years and remain significantly carbon-negative for the remainder of its operational life. 

Avoided emissions in the NT and Singapore are estimated to total 485 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the project's lifespan.

Concerns also exist regarding potential impacts on local wildlife, such as the threatened greater bilby, grey falcon, Gouldian finch, and yellow-spotted monitor, due to changes in surface water flows in the Lake Woods catchment. 

Nonetheless, the NTEPA concluded that, with SunCable's proposed mitigation measures, the project could be managed in an environmentally acceptable manner.