Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) on Friday (Sep 8) gave conditional approvals for five firms to import 2 gigawatt (GW) of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia.
Conditional approvals are granted when EMA preliminarily assesses that the proposed electricity import projects are technically and commercially viable. They aid companies in securing the necessary regulatory approvals and licences.
The five companies managing the projects are Pacific Medco Solar (formed by PacificLight Renewables, Medco Power Global and Gallant Venture), Adaro Solar International (formed by PT Adaro Clean Energy Indonesia), EDP Renewables APAC, Vanda RE (formed by Gurin Energy and Gentari International Renewables) and Keppel Energy.
Their import capacities have been approved at 0.6GW, 0.4GW, 0.4GW, 0.3GW and 0.3GW respectively.
With these projects, solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) manufacturing plants will be set up in Indonesia, said EMA, adding that they will aim to start commercial operations from the end of 2027.
“As the next step, the companies will be conducting their marine survey on the proposed route for their subsea power cables, as approved by the Indonesian authorities,” said EMA.
The agency noted that the conditional approvals build on related Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) between Singapore and Indonesia – including one on low-carbon energy and cross-border electricity interconnection signed on Friday by Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif and Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng.
Friday’s five conditional approvals follow an earlier one in March, given to Keppel Energy to import 1GW of electricity from Cambodia.
With a total of 3GW across the six conditional approvals, Singapore is “closer to its ambition” to import up to 4GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, said EMA.
That will make up about 30 per cent of Singapore’s electricity supply in that year.
“Low-carbon electricity imports through regional power grids are a key enabler in Singapore’s efforts to decarbonise its energy supply, while accelerating renewable energy development in the region, facilitating economic growth, and diversifying energy sources away from fossil fuels,” said EMA.
On Thursday, billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes said his Sun Cable project – to ship energy from a giant solar farm in Australia to Singapore via undersea cable – would apply for a licence with EMA in September, with hopes of meeting Singapore’s 4GW low-carbon electricity import goal.
Singapore also began importing renewable energy from Laos through Thailand and Malaysia in June 2022, under the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project. This will import up to 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable hydropower using existing interconnections.
CNA
