Billionaire Urges Overhaul Of Collapsed AustraliaAsia Solar Mega Project

Disonali Paolo

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Steel magnate Andrew Forrest fell out on Thursday after he and tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes agreed to disagree on financing plans to restart a $20 trillion solar power project from Australia to Singapore.

Singapore-based SunCable has this week appointed voluntary administrators less than a year after raising $210 million for the Australia-Asia PowerLink project through Forrest Squadron Energy and Canon Brooks' private equity firm GROC.

In Squadron's first public comments since Wednesday's termination announcement, the company said the project "requires clear vision and execution."

Squadron Energy believes in the vision, but the way the project is being approached needs an urgent change, Squadron President John Hartman said in an emailed statement.

The project includes a 20 gigawatt (GW) solar power plant, the world's largest energy storage facility and the world's longest undersea cable at 4,200 kilometers (2,610 mi) to supply Singapore and Indonesia.

"Bringing the project to life requires unmatched management practices and world-class project experience, as well as access to banking technology," said Hartman.

He was unavailable for further comment.

Co-owner of Cannon-Brookes, who first invested in the project in 2019, said on Wednesday that they fully support the project and the team's ambitions, calling it "absolute madness".

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has expressed confidence the project will eventually go ahead under the new funding structure after speaking to "key people" at Sun Cable.

"I'm excited and excited about the future of Solar Cable," Bowen told reporters.

The Sun Cable, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2024, is central to Australia's efforts to become an exporter of renewable energy, he said.

Sun Cable executives at FTI Consulting declined to comment. On Wednesday, he said the next step could be to seek expressions of interest to reunite or sell the business.

(1 = AU$1.4445)

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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