MELBOURNE - Iron tycoon Andrew Forrest on Thursday called for a major overhaul of a $US30 billion ($28 billion) project to transfer solar power from Australia to Singapore, which collapsed after he and Mike Cannon-Brooks were forced to part ways over billion-tech financing plans.
Singapore's Sun Cable, originally owned by private equity firm Squadron Energy and Cannon-Brooks Grok Ventures, this week appointed a voluntary administrator less than a year after raising $210 million for the Australia-Asia Powerlink project.
In the squadron's first public comments since the cuts were announced on Wednesday, the company said the project "requires the right vision and execution."
"Squadron Energy believes in that vision, but believes the way we deliver projects urgently needs change," Squadron President John Hartman said in an emailed statement.
The project includes the construction of a 20 GW solar park, the world's largest energy storage facility and the world's longest undersea cable at 4,200 km to supply electricity to Singapore and Indonesia.
"To make the project a reality will require excellent management practices and world-class project execution skills, as well as the use of cost-effective technologies," said Mr. Hartmann.
Cannon-Brookes, who co-owned the project in 2019 when he called it "totally invested," said Wednesday that he remains fully supportive of the project's ambitions and the team.
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen also expressed confidence the project would eventually go ahead under the new funding structure after speaking to "very senior people" at Sun Cable. "I'm very optimistic and excited about the future of Sun Cable," Bowen told reporters.
He said the Sun Cable, which will begin construction in 2024, aims to make Australia a leading exporter of renewable energy.
Sun Cable's administrator for FTI Consulting declined to comment. On Wednesday, they said the next step would likely be to seek expressions of interest to recapitalize or sell the business. Reuters
