Australia's solar farm and battery-storage system in the Northern Territory would be larger than the capacity of New Zealand’s entire electricity system (9.8 gigawatts in 2020).81 The privately funded project, which is currently seeking financing, is expected to cost AUD$22 billion.
In addition to serving existing domestic energy demands, the solar farm could feed new sources of demand, like producing hydrogen for transport fuels and industrial processes and powering data centres and digital services. The proposal includes a 3,700-kilometre undersea transmission line from Darwin to Singapore that would supply up to 20% of Singapore’s electricity demand and generate significant export revenue.82
The project was included in the Australian Infrastructure Priority List in 2020. This has enabled permitting and coordination to be expedited.