The 70-year ILUA enables SunCable to move ahead with its 12,000-hectare solar farm on Powell Creek Station in the Barkly region
Traditional Owners have been guaranteed cultural protection, environmental safeguards, and long-term economic benefits under the agreement
This is part of SunCable’s flagship development project, AAPowerLink
SunCable has inched closer to realizing what it plans to be Australia’s biggest solar farm. The company has signed a 70-year Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Traditional Owners of Janigirulu, Bamayu, and Walanypirri in the Northern Territory, along with the Northern Land Council (NLC), to build a 12,000-hectare solar farm on Powell Creek Station.
The ‘multi-generational’ and ‘multi-million dollar’ agreement promises to bring ‘multi-generational wealth’ to the Traditional Owners who hold native title over the earmarked land area in Barkly. Recently, the company submitted a referral to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) to commence the environmental approval process for the Muckaty Solar Precinct proposal in Barkly.
SunCable assures that cultural knowledge and connections to the land will be protected under the agreement that also includes stringent environmental protection and cultural heritage preservation.
SunCable’s flagship project, Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), targets to deliver up to 6 GW of 24/7 green electricity to industrial customers in Darwin and Singapore as DarwinLink and SingaporeLink.
Around 4 GW of this capacity will be supplied to Darwin for green industrial development, and the remaining 2 GW is planned to be delivered via transcontinental transmission to deliver a flat load of 1.75 GW to Singapore. The company says this project will integrate wind, solar, and battery capacity at scale to ensure 24/7 renewable electricity supply to industrial customers.
DarwinLink is the Australian component of AAPowerLink in the Barkly region. The Final Investment Decision for DarwinLink is expected in 2027, followed by a 4-year construction phase from 2028. It will have an operating life of 70 years. Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (QIP) is the development partner.
The land deal follows years of negotiations between the signatories of the agreement. SunCable says this deal is an example of how large-scale energy projects can be developed in partnership with Aboriginal communities without displacing them.
“SunCable is developing one of the largest renewable energy projects in the region, designed to harness the Northern Territory’s world-class solar resource to deliver reliable, cost-effective renewable electricity to industrial customers in the Northern Territory and SouthEast Asia,” stated SunCable CEO Ryan Willemsen-Bell.