Sun Cable enters voluntary administration – Strong development progress and portfolio provides opportunity for refreshed alignment between company and investor objectives

11 January 2023 – Sydney, Australia

Sun Cable Pty Ltd (“Company”) has made the difficult decision to enter voluntary administration. The voluntary administration process will now unlock a path forward for the Company to access additional capital for continued development of its marque project, the Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) and progress the next stage of its development portfolio in a strong market.

Christopher Hill, David McGrath and John Park of FTI Consulting have been appointed as voluntary administrators of the Company. The administrators have not been appointed to any of the Company’s subsidiaries. The Administrators intend to work with the Company’s management team and key stakeholders to determine appropriate next steps for the business. This will likely involve a process to seek expressions of interest for either a recapitalisation or sale of the business.

The appointment followed the absence of alignment with the objectives of all shareholders. Whilst funding proposals were provided, consensus on the future direction and funding structure of the company could not be achieved.

Sun Cable continues to represent an outstanding strategic opportunity to operationally deliver the largest renewable energy project in the world, with the AAPowerLink project to supply power to the Northern Territory and Singapore, commencing late this decade. Sun Cable currently has a portfolio of a further 11 GW of proposed projects, which is equivalent to over 3 times that of the AAPowerLink.

Major milestones in the development of the AAPowerLink, include:

• October 2022: Announced that Sun Cable is 50% over-subscribed for offtake interest in Singapore, having received Letters of Intent for ~2.5GW, versus planned supply of ~1.75GW.
• November 2022: Identification in the Northern Territory of offtakers with around 30GW of renewable electricity demand, resulting in scope for further projects to be developed to serve this demand.
• Government & regulatory approvals: 
  – 2019: Major Project Status from the Northern Territory Government
  – 2020: Major Project Status from the Australian Government
  – 2021: Placed on the National Infrastructure Priority List in Australia and deemed ‘Investment Ready’ by Infrastructure Australia
  – September 2021: Indonesia announces preliminary route approval for the subsea cable.
  – 2022: The Solar Project (Australia-Asia PowerLink) (Special Provisions) Act 2022 enacted, providing strong regulatory guidance and facilitation for the project in the Northern Territory.

Founder and CEO of Sun Cable, David Griffin said:
“Sun Cable has made extraordinary progress in developing the AAPowerLink. This project remains well placed for completion. As we have progressed our work, the demand for delivering reliable, dispatchable 24/7 renewable energy in the NT and the region has risen materially. Sun Cable looks forward to developing and operating the projects to meet this demand.”

Chair of Sun Cable, Mike Cannon-Brookes said:
“Sun Cable has achieved so much since it was founded in 2018. I’m confident it will play a huge role in delivering green energy for the world, right here from Australia. I fully back this ambition and the team, and look forward to supporting the company’s next chapter.”

11 January 2023 MEDIA STATEMENT – PDF

For all further enquiries, please contact:
Shane Murphy
Strategic Communications
FTI Consulting
0420 945 291
shane.murphy@fticonsulting.com