Underpinning this boom is SunCable’s Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink), the world’s largest renewable energy and transmission project.

Over two stages, it proposes to generate, store, and transmit 6GW of firmed solar and wind energy from the Barkly region, home to some of the world’s best renewable resources.

4GW will be sent to Darwin, where it will underpin a significant new wave of green development at Middle Arm by supplying affordable 24/7 green energy to industries such as hydrogen, ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel, e-fuels, data centres, and critical green mineral processing.

“Having common-use infrastructure, completed baseline environmental approvals, and gigawatt-scale green electricity all available together at Middle Arm makes the Top End a compelling investment destination of choice for green industries looking for a base in the Asia-Pacific,” says SunCable Australia’s Managing Director Cameron Garnsworthy.

“This can really kickstart an Australian green manufacturing and processing industry, with the Territory leading the charge.”

From Darwin, an additional 2GW will be transmitted via a 4300km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea cable to Singapore, helping to diversify its grid.

“The cable technology we’re planning to use is tried and tested,” Mr Garnsworthy says, noting that over the past decade, 23GW of crossborder HVDC cables using the same technology have been successfully installed in Europe.

The nation-building AAPowerLink will be an economic game-changer, and will help the Territory, Australia, and Singapore all reach Net Zero goals, he says.

“Simply put, SunCable is a company founded on a vision to help decarbonise the planet,” he says.

In a big leap forward, AAPowerLink recently obtained two major envtironmental approvals from the Territory and Commonwealth Governments.

The largest of their kind in Australian history, the approvals allow the project to progress to the next stage of planning and development: negotiating land agreements with Traditional Owners and landowners, maturing supply agreements with customers, progressing the project finance strategy, and completing detailed engineering.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered AAPowerLink a ringing endorsement when he told the Australian Parliament in August that it was “Australia’s biggest renewable energy project ever”.

“[It] is expected to deliver more than $20 billion in economic value to the Northern Territory and support an average of 6,800 direct and indirect jobs for each year of the construction phase, with a peak workforce of 14,300,” Mr Albanese said.

SunCable is headquartered in Darwin, with its local workforce growing by 50 per cent since the beginning of 2024.

“Our team of long-term locals is very committed to creating intergenerational social and economic benefits in the place they call home,” Mr Garnsworthy says.

During construction, the project will generate up to AUD $8 billion of direct investment.

Once construction is completed, over 350 permanent roles will be created in the Territory for the project’s estimated 70-year life.

The company is committed to sharing these opportunities with as many local businesses and suppliers as possible.

“We want Territorians to reap the benefit of this world-leading project that will be developed in their backyard,” Mr Garnsworthy says.

A draft Territory Benefit Plan includes strategies to develop the local and Indigenous workforce, sets employment and training outcomes and targets, and commits to the longterm development and inclusion of local industry.

The company is collaborating with the Industry Capability Network to ensure that Territory participation is maximised across the construction and operation phases.

“We acknowledge that it’ll take time to build workforce readiness,” Mr Garnsworthy says.

Planning for pre-employment training, and work-ready, apprenticeship, and cadetship programs is already underway.

A local workforce strategy was commissioned in 2022 focusing on building workforce supply in the Top End and Barkly regions, and SunCable will begin implementing its recommendations in 2025.

A major priority for the company is partnering with Traditional Owners to secure Indigenous Land Use Agreements and ensure that benefits flow to custodians of the country on which the project will operate.

“We’re committed to ensuring the project can and will deliver on benefits for Aboriginal communities across our footprint, so our workforce development activities need to start there,” Mr Garnsworthy says.

“We want the project to build the capability of local industry, and then use it as a training ground to skill people up across the board and get them into the thousands of jobs we’ll need filled.”

Interested industry are encouraged to register to be kept informed of procurement opportunities: AAPowerLink.icn.org.au