Giorgia Burzachechi Pioneering energy transition projects are coming to Australia, one of the world's largest CO₂ emitters. The Western Green Energy Hub will produce up to 70 GW of renewable energy and 3.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year. SunCable, with the Australia-Asia PowerLink project, will provide clean energy to Darwin and Singapore via the world's largest solar farm.
Big renewable energy players are flocking to Australia in order to hurry the country’s transition. As much as it has one of the largest global carbon footprints—largely due to large fossil fuel consumption—Australia can expect to develop more than 70 gigawatts (GW) of green energy.
The australian emissions
Australia is a top greenhouse gas emitter in the world. In 2021, global CO₂ emissions rose 5.3% from the year before, with China, the United States of America, the European Union, India, Russia, and Japan accounting for 67.8% of global fossil CO₂ emissions combined.
The country is in the midst of a significant energy transition, with more investment in renewable power. In South Australia alone, 40% of residences have solar panels installed, leading to greater energy autonomy and lower consumer costs.
Western green energy hub
A signature project is the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH), a far-reaching endeavor that stretches over approximately 5,792 square miles (15,000 km²) along Australia’s southwestern shore. This ground-breaking initiative seeks not only to change the face of the country’s energy industry but also to set an example around the world in clean, green energy generation.
The plan involves generating more than 50 GW of solar and wind power hybrids, installing approximately 3,000 wind turbines and 60 million solar panels. The goal is to produce as much as 70 gigawatts of electricity—Australia’s total current energy capacity. This power will be used to generate up to around 3.86 million short tons (3.5 million metric tons) per year of zero-emission green hydrogen, which will be utilized in key sectors such as long-distance shipping, mineral processing, and heavy transport.
Suncable
SunCable is an Australian company dedicated to the construction of large-scale renewable energy projects to supply clean energy across Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.Its flagship project is the Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), which includes building the world’s largest solar plant in the Northern Territory. The power station will feed power to Darwin and Singapore via a high-voltage submarine cable of some 2,610 miles (4,200 kilometers) long. The project is expected to provide up to 6 GW of baseload, round-the-clock renewable power to Darwin’s industrial customers and 1.75 GW to Singapore in Malaysia.
