Australia to build world's largest solar farm

Photo: Pixabay

Australia is just one step away from building the world's largest solar farm. The cost of the entire project will reach 24 billion dollars. The resulting energy will cover the consumption of up to three million households and another part will travel via an undersea cable to Singapore.

The giant solar farm will be located in the remote north of Australia. It will consist of a large number of solar panels, batteries and ultimately a cable that will connect Australia to Singapore. A big supporter of the whole project is billionaire and green activist Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The construction of the project will take several more years and according to preliminary information energy production should start in 2030. Up to four gigawatts of energy is expected for Australian households. Another two gigawatts will be provided to Singapore which will secure 15 percent of the country's consumption.

Currently most countries are racing to build clean energy power plants but China remains the leader at the moment. It is rapidly building twice as many wind and solar farms as all the remaining countries combined. This year alone, China commissioned the Midong solar power plant with a total output of 3.5 gigawatts. Australia still lags behind in this regard with renewables covering only 32 percent of consumption. In contrast, energy obtained from coal still covers around 45 percent.

Australia wants to become carbon neutral by 2050 but it will still need to invest heavily in building solar and wind farms.

Source: France24/Editorial