The federal government has approved what will be the world’s largest solar precinct, and Australia’s biggest solar farm, in the Northern Territory.

SunCable’s Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) was approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), marking a major regulatory milestone, the company announced on Wednesday.

AAPowerLink is one of the largest energy infrastructure projects to ever receive an EPBC Act approval, with a 2,000km long footprint from the heart of the Northern Territory to the Australian and Indonesian maritime border.

The project recieved environmental approval from the Northern Territory Government and NT Environment Protection Authority last month.

The environmental approvals pave the way for development of infrastructure to supply electricity to the Northern Territory and for export to Singapore, SunCable says.

“SunCable is pleased to receive Commonwealth Government approval under the EPBC Act, following four years of extensive assessment and public consultation with stakeholders around Australia,” Australian Managing Director Cameron Garnsworthy said.

He said the company will now focus on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a Final Investment Decision by 2027.

Strict environmental conditions

The Australia-Asia Power Link is expected to generate up to 4GW of renewable energy – enough to power 3 million homes – and deliver an estimated $20 billion in economic value to the Territory, the government says.

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek said the approval came with strict conditions to protect nature including requirements to completely avoid important species like the Greater Bilby and critical habitat.

“This massive project is a generation-defining piece of infrastructure. It will be the largest solar precinct in the world – and heralds Australia as the world leader in green energy,” she said in a statement.

The energy generated by this project would be almost six times the amount of energy a 700MW large nuclear reactor could deliver based on IEAA figures, the minister said.

Ms Plibersek says the government has now ticked off more than  55 renewable energy projects, representing enough energy to power almost 7 million homes.

Sun Cable’s regional director NT, Jett Street, described it as a landmark day for the company, with the project now approved by both the NT and Commonwealth governments.

The plant will supply 6GW of solar to Darwin a further 1.75GW to industrial customers in Singapore, Ms Jett said.

Thumbs up from Climate Council

The Climate Council has also welcomed the approval, hailing it as a bold step in seizing the power of the sun to make Australia a clean energy powerhouse.

“Already today 40 per cent of the power in our main national grid is powered by reliable renewables. Major new projects like SunCable will keep driving up the dominance of solar and wind – delivering affordable energy and slashing climate pollution,” CEO Amanda McKenzie said.

“With the closure of coal-fired power stations on the horizon, Australia needs to accelerate the roll out of solar and storage at every level—rooftops, large-scale projects, and everything in between.”

A Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project is expected in 2027 with electricity supply to commence in the early 2030s.

In the meantime, SunCable says it will be engaging with Singapore’s Energy Market Authority to progress the project, and negotiating land use agreements with traditional owners.

The company was acquired last year by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.