Hatch Wollongong employees have been working in the Northern Territory and Brisbane since the company was recently appointed to be a project delivery partner on one of the world's largest renewable energy infrastructure projects.
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Simon Malin and Mick Camilleri are involved in Sun Cable's high capacity solar generation, storage and transmission system that will transmit renewable electricity overland from the Barkly Region to Darwin and then to Singapore via a 4,200km subsea cable.
Sun Cable, a multinational company founded in Australia and Singapore, is developing Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) which will be capable of powering whole cities with renewable energy. It will be able to supply up to 15 per cent of Singapore's electricity needs by 2028 and reduce its emissions by six million tonnes per year.
The Wollongong personnel are part of an international team of experts from Hatch, Bechtel, Marsh McLennan, PwC Australia and SMEC (Surbana Jurong Group) who are helping deliver the $30billion project.
Hatch's Wollongong based Australiasian director of energy Simon Malin said that after forming a joint venture the company with an office in Wollongong was appointed a project delivery partner for the export of competitively priced renewable electricity from the world's biggest solar farm at Powell Creek.
Mr Malin said the Hatch team is providing expertise in High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission.
"This is a hugely very exciting project," he said.
"I led the bid and pulled a couple of people from Wollongong in. We are leveraging the global expertise we have in the Hatch business, particularly in the transmission space.
"I am a representative on the project steering committee and Mick Camilleri has a prominent area management role on the project.
"We have been in the Northern Territory for the last month visiting the solar site and touring the transmission corridor. This has really captured the hearts and minds of engineers in our business."
Among those already involved in the project is Wollongong's Kurt Edwards.
Mr Malin said the massive solar farm at Powell Creek is on a 12,000 hectare site in one the sunniest locations on Earth.
"This project would not have been feasible 20 years ago but with technological advances in the convertor stations you can now transmit large quantities of power over long distances at high voltage DC," he said.
"This is a great project which is transformative for Australia on a scale that hasn't been seen before."
Sun Cable is integrating a range of technologies and infrastructure to develop the massive solar farm. The project also involves the world's largest battery and longest undersea HVDC transmission cable system.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2023 with the first supply of electricity to Darwin likely to take place in 2026 and Singapore in 2027.
Following the granting of a subsea cable route recommendation from the Indonesian Government and approval to undertake the next stage of the subsea cable survey, the appointment of the project management team was the next key milestone in delivering reliable, renewable energy from Australia to Asia.
Sun Cable has formed a AAPowerLink partnership with the Northern Territory Government that is expected to develop into a $40 billion economy by 2030 and generate up to $2 billion per annum in exports for Australia.
Sun Cable chief executive David Griffin said securing the support of globally recognised experts such as those from Hatch was a huge vote of confidence.
"This project is designed to significantly accelerate the carbon zero ambitions of the region and we have brought together a dream team to bring it to fruition," he said.
Hatch global managing director Robert Francki said in a low carbon world, projects like the AAPowerLink will be vitally important to transforming how we generate and distribute power.
"Hatch is thrilled to be a part of the consortium and this monumental project, which will prove to the world that this type of enormous generation and long-distance distribution is possible, and will in fact be critical to the world's energy transition."
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
