As the crow flies, the distance from Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, to the South-East Asian island nation is 3,400km — by most standards, a very long way.
And yet it is this distance over which an Australian energy company is vying to lay the world's longest subsea electrical cable in the hope of tapping into a green dream.
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company → fly → dream
That company is Sun Cable, a renewable energy developer backed by Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.
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company → back → Brookes
Sun Cable aims to generate colossal amounts of solar power in the endless, sun-drenched expanses of Australia's Top End, supplying Singapore's 6 million consumers via a 4,300km transmission cable through the Indonesian archipelago.
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Cable → aim → archipelago
"I'm not aware of too many other projects on this scale," said James Bowen, an energy and geopolitical analyst.
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Bowen → say → scale
"I think we could safely call it a mega project."
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we → think → it
Ambition without equal
Indeed, the exact scope of Sun Cable's $35 billion ambition is hard to comprehend.
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scope → comprehend → ambition
It would involve building solar panels to produce up to 10 gigawatts across as much as 12,000 hectares — an area twice the size of Manhattan.
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It → involve → Manhattan
Battery storage on a similarly massive scale would back up the solar farm when the sun is not shining.
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sun → back → farm
Electricity would be transported 800km from the desert to Darwin, where some of it would support the local grid.
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some → transport → grid
The vast majority, however, would be sent onwards to Singapore.
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majority → send → Singapore
There, Sun Cable would supply up to 1.75 gigawatts of power, or about a quarter of the country's typical demand.
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Cable → supply → demand
Amid persistent questions about the feasibility of Sun Cable's grandiose plans, the ABC travelled to Singapore to speak to potential customers.
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ABC → travel → customers
Puah said his country's energy needs were intense.
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needs → say → ?
He said air-conditioning in the famously steamy climate runs around-the-clock while industry chews up as much as 80 per cent of power demand.
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industry → say → demand
Added to the challenge of meeting that demand, he said Singapore wants to become carbon neutral.
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Singapore → add → demand
"We have set for ourselves a goal of reaching net zero by the year 2050," Puah told the ABC.
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Puah → set → ABC
"You can imagine for a small country like Singapore how difficult that can be."
'Cables, not pipelines'
Singapore, Puah said, was doing what it can within its own borders.
Solar panels are being installed everywhere — on roofs, on car parks and even on the city's reservoirs as floating installations.
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panels → imagine → installations
But he acknowledged it was a strategy with severe limits.
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it → acknowledge → limits
Even with the feverish activity, Puah said solar only supplies about three per cent of Singapore's power, a figure unlikely to increase by much more than double.
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solar → say → double
To reach net zero by the middle of the century, he said Singapore had started to look further afield.
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Singapore → reach → century
"We are also looking at importing electricity from around the region," he said.
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he → look → region
"We have set for ourselves a target of importing up to around six gigawatts of clean energy from the region by the year 2035.
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We → set → year
"
It is into this equation that Sun Cable hopes to insert itself.
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Cable → hop → that
Currently, Singapore gets about 95 per cent of its electricity from natural gas, more than half shipped into the country as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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Singapore → get → gas
The rest is sourced via pipelines from neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
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rest → source → Malaysia
Christophe Inglin from the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore said the island state would have to do with renewable electricity what it has long done with fossil fuels.
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it → say → fuels
"We've imported the oil and gas," Inglin said.
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Inglin → import → oil
"We can now import electrons.
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We → import → electrons
"So instead of pipelines, we need copper cables.
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we → need → cables
According to Inglin, Singapore already imports some electricity from Malaysia through a high-voltage transmission line, but these imports do not amount to much.
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imports → accord → much
There are plans to dramatically increase the amount through a regional "super grid" that would much more closely weave together the electricity systems of South-East Asia.
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that → be → Asia
Under such plans, Inglin said Singapore would be able to source hydro power from Laos, wind from Vietnam and huge amounts of solar from Malaysia and Indonesia.
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Singapore → say → Malaysia
"Without the regional grid, it wouldn't work," he said.
"
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he → work → grid
They go round and round.
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They → go → ?
"But I think we're seeing breakthroughs coming now.
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breakthroughs → think → ?
It's in the interests of both the exporting countries and the importing countries, Singapore."
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It → export → countries
Stretching for the sun
Inglin said a South-East Asian network does not preclude Sun Cable (which declined to be interviewed for this story).
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which → stretch → story
Australia borders the region, but he said the company faced long odds.
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company → border → odds
"I think the Singapore government and the EMA keep a very open mind on that," he said.
"
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he → think → that
They say, 'if you can do it, bring it in … there's a market here for that'.
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you → say → that
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia