SYDNEY: Australian software mogul Mike Cannon-Brookes was appointed chairman of the clean energy start-up Sun Cable, which is trying to secure funds for a proposed $30 billion-plus US $19.3 billion-plus solar power export project.
Sun Cable plans to supply solar power from Australia to Singapore and eventually Indonesia, through the world's longest subsea high voltage cable, linked to a 17 -- 20 gigawatt solar farm, as well as an energy storage facility of up to 42 GWh in Australia's Northern Territory.
Cannon-Brookes, an investor in Sun Cable since 2019 and a co-founder of the project management software maker Atlassian, said he was thrilled to take over the role at the company, which is yet to break ground on the planned 4,500 km undersea cable.
Australia can be a leader in clean energy exports. Sun Cable is at the forefront of making Australia a renewable energy superpower, Cannon-Brookes said in a statement.
Sun Cable Chief Executive David Griffin pointed out the experience of Cannon-Brookes in building business to a global scale. The investment ready tick was given by Infrastructure Australia, an independent body that was tasked with evaluating infrastructure projects, backed by iron ore magnate and Fortescue Metals founder Andrew Forrest.
The construction is scheduled to start in 2024 with full operations beginning in 2029.
The project has capital raising to start in July, as Sun Cable appointed Macquarie Capital, Moelis Co and MA Financial Group as financial advisers, with the goal of wrapping up in early 2024.
Cannon-Brookes' environmental activism is making waves in corporate Australia, most recently in his attempt to buy AGL, Australia's largest electricity generator, and to close AGL's coal-fired power plants by the end of the decade.