Singapore-based Sun Cable Collapses
On January 21, Singapore renewable energy firm Sun Cable announced it would enter voluntary administration after the company's backers failed to reach an agreement on funding structure and its future direction. The company was put up for sale after its two top investors, tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest, failed to agree on future funding plans.
Sun Cable’s key project is a US$21 billion project (S$27.6 billion) known as the Australia-Asia PowerLink, which planned to channel solar energy from northern Australia to Singapore via the construction of a 4,200 undersea cable. The cable was supposed be fully operational in 2029 and supply up to 15 percent of Singapore's total electricity needs. Cannon-Brookes, tech billionaire and Sun Cable's chairman, had backed the key project. However, Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy called for an overhaul of the project, aiming to scrap the undersea cable plan due to its high costs.
Sun Cable’s uncertain future could threaten Singapore’s ability to find low-carbon energy imports by 2030, potentially having major implications on Singapore’s climate ambitions.