Australian tech billionaire to chair $20 billion solar energy export mission By Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian software program mogul Mike Cannon-Brookes was named chairman on Friday of fresh power start-up Solar Cable, which is in search of to safe funds for a proposed A$30 billion-plus ($19.3 billion-plus) solar energy export mission.

Singapore-based Solar Cable plans to produce solar energy from Australia to Singapore and finally Indonesia by means of the world’s longest subsea excessive voltage cable, linked to a 17-20 gigawatt photo voltaic farm, in addition to an power storage facility of as much as 42 GWh in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of mission administration software program maker Atlassian (NASDAQ:) and an investor in Solar Cable since 2019, mentioned he was “thrilled” to take up the function on the firm, which is but to interrupt floor on the deliberate 4,500 km (2,800 mile) undersea cable.

“Australia can and must be a worldwide chief in clear power exports. Solar Cable is on the forefront of creating Australia a renewable power superpower,” Cannon-Brookes mentioned in an announcement.

Solar Cable Chief Government David Griffin pointed to Cannon-Brookes’ expertise in “quickly constructing enterprise to a worldwide scale.”

The mission, additionally backed by iron ore magnate and Fortescue Metals founder Andrew Forrest, obtained an “funding prepared” tick in June from Infrastructure Australia, an impartial physique tasked with evaluating infrastructure tasks.

Development is deliberate to start out in 2024 with full operations commencing in 2029.

Capital elevating for the mission is underway after Solar Cable appointed Macquarie Capital, Moelis (NYSE:) & Co and MA Monetary Group as monetary advisers in July, with the goal of wrapping up in early 2024.

Cannon-Brookes’ environmental activism is making waves in company Australia, most not too long ago by means of his try earlier this yr to purchase AGL, Australia’s largest electrical energy generator, and speed up the closure of AGL’s coal-fired energy crops by a decade.

($1 = 1.5567 Australian {dollars})