Australia’s most ambitious renewable energy venture, SunCable, is back in the spotlight. Backed by Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, the $35 billion solar and battery project in the Northern Territory has secured environmental approval for its first stage and is now pivoting toward powering energy-hungry data centres. Once designed primarily to export solar power to Singapore, SunCable is repositioning to meet immediate demand from hyperscalers—the global tech giants driving AI and cloud computing growth.

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Key Points

• $35 billion SunCable project in the NT aims to build the world’s largest solar and battery hub.
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• Stage one has received environmental approval from the federal government.
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• Pivoting to supply data centres in the NT and Barkly region as early as 2028.
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• Long-term vision remains exporting solar power to Singapore via an undersea cable.
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• Talks underway with major hyperscalers, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and others.

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Project Significance

SunCable represents a bold new intersection between renewable energy and artificial intelligence. By powering data centres with off-grid solar and battery storage, the project could help Australia position itself as a regional hub for clean digital infrastructure. If successful, it would not only ease pressure on the National Electricity Market but also showcase how renewable energy can underpin one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

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Further Details: Australia’s Clean Energy Future Meets AI’s Power Demands

Founded in 2018, SunCable set out to deliver 20GW of solar and 35GWh of storage to supply Darwin and Singapore. After years of setbacks—including a high-profile split between Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest—the project is adapting to global demand shifts.

AI and cloud computing companies, known as hyperscalers, are now the leading customers. Their appetite for stable, renewable power is immense. SunCable’s CEO Ryan Willemsen-Bell confirmed that hyperscalers could access several hundred megawatts from 2028, scaling to gigawatts in the years ahead.

The NT government and Canberra see opportunities: Australia has abundant solar resources, political stability, and a strategic location near Asia’s fastest-growing data markets. While exports to Singapore remain part of the plan, SunCable’s near-term focus is delivering electricity to local and regional customers. This pragmatic step could help secure investor confidence and demonstrate early results before tackling the mammoth undersea cable.