Helietta Holdings, a leading renewable energy company, has recently announced its decision to acquire the assets of Sun Cable, a billion-dollar renewable energy project initiated by Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures. This acquisition comes as a major relief for the Sun Cable project, which was facing uncertainty due to funding issues.
Revival of a collapsed project
The $20 billion Sun Cable renewable energy project has been rescued by Cannon-Brookes, which means that voluntary administrators of the project will work with Helietta Holdings to complete the transaction.
In a statement, Cannon-Brookes said, “A big step in the right direction. We’ve always believed in the possibilities Sun Cable presents in exporting our boundless sunshine and what it could mean for Australia.”
He continued, “It’s time to stretch our country’s ambition. We need to take big swings if we are going to be a renewable energy superpower. So swing we will.”
Andrew Forrest, the owner of Squadron and one of the owners of the Sun Cable project, stated that his company did not submit a binding offer to buy Sun Cable. Instead, they would focus on their existing renewable energy targets.
“We remain unconvinced of the commercial viability of the Australia-Asia Powerlink, but if others believe it can be achieved, we wish them all the best,” Forrest said.
It can be recalled that Sun Cable was placed in administration in January after its owners, Forrest and Cannon-Brookes, could not agree on the same funding plans.
The cost of the project is so high due to the scale and the cost of the undersea cable. There are also significant challenges in logistics as the project is located in NT.
The two decided to enter voluntary administration, in which FTI Consulting’s Christopher Hill, David McGrath, and John Park were appointed.
The deal is expected to be completed before the end of July.
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The Sun Cable project
The $30 billion AAPowerLink was unveiled by Sun Cable in 2019, and was to be built in the Northern Territory. It’s a 10 GW solar farm and battery storage project, which was also set to be one of the biggest renewable energy projects in the world. Initially, it was intended to supply electricity not only in Australia, but in Singapore as well.
Earlier this year, the project was scrutinised for its feasibility and economic viability. The doubts are mostly directed to the cable element of the project, specifically the cable between Australia and Singapore.
The path between the two countries passes through deep water, oil pipelines, several telecoms cables, and more. Since cables break all the time, cable recovery is also not possible should it get damaged underwater; and some experts think that due to the geological action along the route where the cable will be placed, puts the cable at a higher risk of breaking.
Forrest has already expressed his concerns over the rising costs pop the project and even said earlier that if he acquired Sun Cable, he would not proceed with the cable element of the project.
Cannon-Brookes carries on
Despite the challenges of the project, Cannon-Brookes continue to push through with the project. The Atlassian co-owner and tech billionaire is known for its advocacy for solar power.
He wants the country to become a renewable energy super power using 100 per cent clean energy. Cannon-Brookes has his own fair dinkum energy campaign, which raises awareness on energy issues and solutions.
The billionaire is also arguably responsible for making Australia the home to the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery when he challenged Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build the $200 million Powerpack system in South Australia in 100 days in 2017.
Energy Matters has over 17 years of experience in the solar industry and has helped over 40,000 Australian households in their journey to energy independence.
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