November 19, 2025 • 7 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Some Cable has reached a major milestone this week, signing
an Indigenous Land Juice agreement with the Powell Creek Native
title holders. The agreement marks a key step in progressing
what's expected to be one of the largest renewable energy
projects in the region. Sun Cable say the deal follows
years of collaboration and is going to ensure that traditional
(00:22):
owners are at the center of the project with commitments
to jobs, training and business opportunities, as well as cultural
heritage protection. Now joining me in the studio is sun
Cable's Jet Street, the director of corporate Affairs. Good morning
to you, Jets. Good morning, lovely to have you in
the studio. Now, what does the agreement mean in terms
(00:44):
of getting the project underway?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So, the Indigenous Land nes agreement is one of the
principal agreements that a project needs before it can actually
move into the detailed project delivery and planning stages. And
the other principal agreements that you need are with the
Pastoral Land Order and also your environmental approvals, which we
secured last year and we spoke about that. I think, yeah,
that's right, Yeah, yeah, So this and I mean there's
(01:08):
a couple of others that sit behind that as well.
But fundamentally, what we've got now is the security across
the project to be able to move forward with signing
a customer and then actually planning how we would deliver
that project for the customer. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Right, So I guess you know, for those on the
ground at pal Craig, those traditional owners, you know, what
does it mean for them and how they feeling after
it was signed earlier in.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
The week, They're feeling ecstatic. I was at the signing
ceremony in Elliott and yeah, the energy in the room
was like quite unlike anything I've ever felt before, really, honest.
We so some Cable commence consultation with the traditional owners
for this project in March twenty twenty one, so you know,
(01:50):
four and a half years ago, but the formal negotiations
only started in September twenty twenty three. So it's been
a long journey and it has taken a long time
to build that trust to really understand what their aspirations
are for that development. The native title holders for Powell
Creek only secured their native title in twenty twenty as well,
(02:11):
so you know, quite immediately after receiving their native title,
they had this opportunity to start moving forward, and for them,
it's I think, yeah, quite, it's quite a profound moment
to see that they've really been able to mature an
opportunity that will start to provide benefits immediately into their families.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And hopefully sort of you know that generational change as well. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, So that's actually one of the most unique points
about this negotiat about this agreement. It actually spans seventy years.
I understand that's like the longest agreement that's ever been
kind of entered into in Australia. And that's because we
see that this project has a seventy year life.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And so what do you think or when do you
think we're going to sort of start seeing real jobs
and training opportunities as well on the ground.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So what this So the way that our project has
been developed is that we now have the opportunity to
start to supply industrial customers in the Barclay from the
late twenty twenties, and then we would look to develop
the transmission line and bring power to Darwin in the
early twenty thirties, and from the mid twenty thirties we
would look to be able to supply Southeast Asia via
(03:22):
cross border electricity trade. So there is a really staged
approach to developing the project. So you know, to answer
your question directly, we do need to still secure a customer,
but there is the potential here that the actual project
could there could be a project that starts construction and
within a couple of years.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, right, so you know to get that. You know,
is this land use agreement? Is it sort of the
final green light that you need to be able to
do all of that?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So what it is is like the final stage for
us of those principal approvals, like can you have to
do like there's another period of work here where we
do detailed engineering, we you know, secure a customer and
then you know, you negotiate those terms. You also have
a lot of other secondary approvals to get through with
your environmental processes and then there's site works and things
(04:10):
like this that take place, and then you take financial
investment decision and that's when construction starts. So that's you know,
can be a process that takes I would say, you know,
two to three years, but it depends on the timelines
that you need and also the scale of that project.
So you know, that process can actually be quite short
if depending on what you're actually trying to unlock. But
(04:31):
there are still I mean some cables already spent about
fifteen million dollars in the Northern Territory over the last
five years on our local workforce and also on the
supply chain to support you know, site activities, surveys, all
of the kind of consultation work that we've done, and yeah,
the approvals and so on.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Jet. I know, sometimes when there's a major project you
know that that is getting underway or that is underway,
sometimes locals sort of feel like, oh, I can't really
see anything happening, so I don't go if it is.
You know, what is this project going to mean more
broadly for the Northern Territory.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yeah, you're right. I think we're a victim of that
exact thing that you're spoken about where people think it's
not really moving. But actually we've only really been a
project for about five years. But because we're so big
and have such a big profile, people expect that we
should already be constructing by now. But what we've achieved
in those five years is really normal for a big,
complex energy project. So the way that we can move
(05:30):
forward with this is that basically, we take these next
stages of development and take FID and what you'll see
is that, you know, there'll be industry briefings and these
types of engagements that happen so that local business has
the opportunity to understand how they participate in the project
and to support that, we have a really robust territory
Benefit plan that sets out exactly how we will structure
(05:51):
our contracting to make sure that those benefits flow to
the region.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And then in terms of you know, the Northern territories
energy needs. Oh yeah, how you know, how how big
an impact do you think that's going to have.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Thanks for drawing back that point, because this is actually
my favorite point. The whole thing about sun Cable is
that we're developing the world class solar resource in the
Berkley region. It's honestly the best in the world. And
what we can do is develop that at scale, which
means that the price that we can supply that power
is globally like best in class. And what we will
(06:23):
do then is attract really big developments to the Northern
Territory to use that power. So some of those markets
include data centers, which have an insatiable demand for energy
at the moment, and looking more broadly, it can also
support decarbonization of industry, advanced manufacturing for critical minerals, your
hydrogen based derivatives such as ammonia or sustainable aviation fuel
(06:44):
or emethane, and these are huge industrial markets that are
going to continue to grow over the next ten to
fifteen years, and it puts the Northern Territory at the
center globally for the opportunity, puts US at the center
being able to develop those industrial opportunities and be a
world leader in kind of green Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Well, Jet Straight, it's fantastic to speak to you this morning.
And I think that it's important for people to understand
as well the progress that's being made, because sometimes when
you can't see what's happening, you sort of don't know
what's going on. So it's really good to speak to
you this morning. I appreciate your time.
Some Cable has reached a major milestone this week, signing
an Indigenous Land Juice agreement with the Powell Creek Native
title holders. The agreement marks a key step in progressing
what's expected to be one of the largest renewable energy
projects in the region. Sun Cable say the deal follows
years of collaboration and is going to ensure that traditional
(00:22):
owners are at the center of the project with commitments
to jobs, training and business opportunities, as well as cultural
heritage protection. Now joining me in the studio is sun
Cable's Jet Street, the director of corporate Affairs. Good morning
to you, Jets. Good morning, lovely to have you in
the studio. Now, what does the agreement mean in terms
(00:44):
of getting the project underway?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So, the Indigenous Land nes agreement is one of the
principal agreements that a project needs before it can actually
move into the detailed project delivery and planning stages. And
the other principal agreements that you need are with the
Pastoral Land Order and also your environmental approvals, which we
secured last year and we spoke about that. I think, yeah,
that's right, Yeah, yeah, So this and I mean there's
(01:08):
a couple of others that sit behind that as well.
But fundamentally, what we've got now is the security across
the project to be able to move forward with signing
a customer and then actually planning how we would deliver
that project for the customer. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Right, So I guess you know, for those on the
ground at pal Craig, those traditional owners, you know, what
does it mean for them and how they feeling after
it was signed earlier in.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
The week, They're feeling ecstatic. I was at the signing
ceremony in Elliott and yeah, the energy in the room
was like quite unlike anything I've ever felt before, really, honest.
We so some Cable commence consultation with the traditional owners
for this project in March twenty twenty one, so you know,
(01:50):
four and a half years ago, but the formal negotiations
only started in September twenty twenty three. So it's been
a long journey and it has taken a long time
to build that trust to really understand what their aspirations
are for that development. The native title holders for Powell
Creek only secured their native title in twenty twenty as well,
(02:11):
so you know, quite immediately after receiving their native title,
they had this opportunity to start moving forward, and for them,
it's I think, yeah, quite, it's quite a profound moment
to see that they've really been able to mature an
opportunity that will start to provide benefits immediately into their families.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And hopefully sort of you know that generational change as well. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, So that's actually one of the most unique points
about this negotiat about this agreement. It actually spans seventy years.
I understand that's like the longest agreement that's ever been
kind of entered into in Australia. And that's because we
see that this project has a seventy year life.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And so what do you think or when do you
think we're going to sort of start seeing real jobs
and training opportunities as well on the ground.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So what this So the way that our project has
been developed is that we now have the opportunity to
start to supply industrial customers in the Barclay from the
late twenty twenties, and then we would look to develop
the transmission line and bring power to Darwin in the
early twenty thirties, and from the mid twenty thirties we
would look to be able to supply Southeast Asia via
(03:22):
cross border electricity trade. So there is a really staged
approach to developing the project. So you know, to answer
your question directly, we do need to still secure a customer,
but there is the potential here that the actual project
could there could be a project that starts construction and
within a couple of years.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, right, so you know to get that. You know,
is this land use agreement? Is it sort of the
final green light that you need to be able to
do all of that?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So what it is is like the final stage for
us of those principal approvals, like can you have to
do like there's another period of work here where we
do detailed engineering, we you know, secure a customer and
then you know, you negotiate those terms. You also have
a lot of other secondary approvals to get through with
your environmental processes and then there's site works and things
(04:10):
like this that take place, and then you take financial
investment decision and that's when construction starts. So that's you know,
can be a process that takes I would say, you know,
two to three years, but it depends on the timelines
that you need and also the scale of that project.
So you know, that process can actually be quite short
if depending on what you're actually trying to unlock. But
(04:31):
there are still I mean some cables already spent about
fifteen million dollars in the Northern Territory over the last
five years on our local workforce and also on the
supply chain to support you know, site activities, surveys, all
of the kind of consultation work that we've done, and yeah,
the approvals and so on.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Jet. I know, sometimes when there's a major project you
know that that is getting underway or that is underway,
sometimes locals sort of feel like, oh, I can't really
see anything happening, so I don't go if it is.
You know, what is this project going to mean more
broadly for the Northern Territory.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yeah, you're right. I think we're a victim of that
exact thing that you're spoken about where people think it's
not really moving. But actually we've only really been a
project for about five years. But because we're so big
and have such a big profile, people expect that we
should already be constructing by now. But what we've achieved
in those five years is really normal for a big,
complex energy project. So the way that we can move
(05:30):
forward with this is that basically, we take these next
stages of development and take FID and what you'll see
is that, you know, there'll be industry briefings and these
types of engagements that happen so that local business has
the opportunity to understand how they participate in the project
and to support that, we have a really robust territory
Benefit plan that sets out exactly how we will structure
(05:51):
our contracting to make sure that those benefits flow to
the region.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And then in terms of you know, the Northern territories
energy needs. Oh yeah, how you know, how how big
an impact do you think that's going to have.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Thanks for drawing back that point, because this is actually
my favorite point. The whole thing about sun Cable is
that we're developing the world class solar resource in the
Berkley region. It's honestly the best in the world. And
what we can do is develop that at scale, which
means that the price that we can supply that power
is globally like best in class. And what we will
(06:23):
do then is attract really big developments to the Northern
Territory to use that power. So some of those markets
include data centers, which have an insatiable demand for energy
at the moment, and looking more broadly, it can also
support decarbonization of industry, advanced manufacturing for critical minerals, your
hydrogen based derivatives such as ammonia or sustainable aviation fuel
(06:44):
or emethane, and these are huge industrial markets that are
going to continue to grow over the next ten to
fifteen years, and it puts the Northern Territory at the
center globally for the opportunity, puts US at the center
being able to develop those industrial opportunities and be a
world leader in kind of green Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Well, Jet Straight, it's fantastic to speak to you this morning.
And I think that it's important for people to understand
as well the progress that's being made, because sometimes when
you can't see what's happening, you sort of don't know
what's going on. So it's really good to speak to
you this morning. I appreciate your time.
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