Australia is preparing to become home to the world’s largest solar farm, with the project expected to generate enough energy to power places as far away as Singapore.
Called Sun Cable, the 10-gigawatt solar farm will occupy 120 square kilometers on a remote patch of the outback in the country’s Northern Territories. Construction is expected to begin in 2023 and if built the farm is expected to be of such colossal dimensions as to be visible from space.
The ambitious solar project, which will cost an eye-watering $20 billion to build, has been backed by the Australian government as well as several billionaire investors. As part of the project, Sun Cable is also working to create training schemes and offer green jobs to members of local Indigenous communities.
Once finished, the farm will initially provide renewable energy to communities in northern Australia, and later on, the plan is to export much of the energy to other countries.
According to Sun Cable CEO David Griffin, two-thirds of the power would eventually be exported to Singapore by high-voltage undersea cables, feeding around a fifth of the city-state’s energy needs.
Currently, Australia’s global carbon footprint amounts to about 5 percent. Such massive renewable projects like Sun Cable have the potential to make a real dent in its emissions.
