Sun Cable, the company behind a plan to pipe solar power from Northern Australia to Asia, has appointed new leadership.
Energy industry veterans Cameron Garnsworthy and Martin Hay have been appointed managing director and chief development officer of SunCable Australia, respectively.
Martin Hay (left) and Cameron Garnsworthy will drive the deployment of the Australia-Asia Power Link project. Image: Sun Cable
The two executives will oversee the deployment of the onshore components of SunCable’s flagship Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project, which will transmit solar energy from the world’s largest solar plant to Singapore via a submarine power cable that will pass through Indonesian waters.
They replace Sun Cable’s three original founders: David Griffin, Mac Thompson, and Fraser Thompson.
The appointments come five months after a change in strategic focus for the company, which entered voluntary receivership a year ago following a disagreement between billionnaire investors Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brooks over the viability of the project.
Sun Cable has since been acquired by Grok Ventures and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, and aims to supply 6 gigawatts of renewable electricity to Darwin by 2030 and later to Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The project has been billed as a way for parts of Asia to break their dependence on fossil fuels.
Garnsworthy and Hay will report to into solar farm developer Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, which is leading the strategic development of the AAPowerLink.
In September, Sun Cable announced that it would set up its own plant to construct the high-voltage cable needed to export solar energy from the Northern Territory to Asia.
Garnsworth has spent much of his career in renewables, and moves into the MD position after a stint running his own energy transition consultancy. He has worked in management roles for Australian energy firms EnergyAustralia, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and JUWI Group.
Hay brings experience in remote project delivery, stakeholder relations and energy transition optimisation to the role. He has been involved with major energy projects in the Northern Territory since 2001, and most recently worked for consulting firm KBR advising firms on energy transition projects.
