Geoff James, a private consultant has posited a prospective undersea cable estimated between $6 and $10 billion in a bid to connect Java in Indonesia to Western Australia with the aim of exporting solar power.
According to the Australian WestBusiness, Geoff James has recommended an undersea cable of 2,000 kilometres to link the Kimberley and Pilbara in northern WA to Java in Indonesia. James is already working on a pre-feasibility study which he’s expected to table before the Pilbara Development Commission in January.
“We have been assisted by project partners who have advised us that it is a ‘technical stretch’ but it is quite feasible,” he said. “The technology does exist and it has been trialed at various lengths, various scales, various depths across the globe. They are developing the technology very rapidly.”
The private investor commissioned to study the project remarked that the project is financially viable and should be completed within a decade.
Notably, the project will require a solar farm with a radius of between 10 to 15 kilometres constructed in the Kimberley and Pilbara, along with a high voltage direct cable transmission route extending between the two locations.
“This could be our key pillar of our relationship with Indonesia, a symbol of mutual benefit, the ability to improve its clean energy and meet its very ambitious growth targets,” he said. “The main challenges are the relationships and the business models to make this work,” says James.
IMAGE via alex lang
