Details of Discussions on Australia-Asia Power Link's Sun Cable Project

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there are ongoing discussions relating to the Australia-Asia Power Link’s Sun Cable project to supply power to Singapore outside of the Request for Proposal programme under the Energy Market Authority; (b) if so, whether details on these discussions can be shared; and (c) whether there are any plans for the Government to invest in the project.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: To decarbonise our power sector, MTI announced in October 2021 that Singapore will import four gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035 through Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

Sun Cable has submitted a proposal for discussion with EMA under the RFP process to export 1.75 gigawatts 1 of electricity from a solar and battery farm in Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore via a 4,200-kilometre 2 subsea cable. All discussions are taken under the RFP framework. As the proposal is still being assessed, we are not able to share any further details.

Separately, Singapore and Australia have been working closely to advance cross-border electricity trade. The Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement signed on 18 October 2022 facilitates the development of frameworks to support cross-border electricity trading and enhance regional energy connectivity.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 29:

1 On 26 October 2022, the Straits Times reported that Sun Cable’s chief commercial officer, Mr Mitesh Patel, said the supply would total 1.75 gigawatts of power.

2 On 23 September 2021, Sun Cable issued a media release stating that the project will feature an approximately 4,200-kilometre long subsea High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable system from Darwin to Singapore.