Singapore looks to imported green power from Asean neighbours to ...

SINGAPORE will increase imports of green electricity from fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as it seeks to decarbonise its power system to help meet its climate goals, an energy official said.

Driven by growing demand for clean energy and limited land available for energy storage facilities, Singapore is “moving ahead with a plan to enhance power grid interconnections with Asean countries,” said Jonathan Goh, director for external relations at Singapore’s Energy Market Authority.

The city-state aims for one-third of its power demand to be met by imported green electricity by 2035, Goh told Caixin during an interview in Beijing earlier this month.

The plan could be seen as Singapore’s latest effort to fulfil its climate pledges. In October 2022, the country set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Decarbonising the power sector is crucial to hitting this goal as generating electricity accounts for about 40 per cent of Singapore’s total carbon emissions.

Singapore first began importing green electricity from another Asean country in June 2022, when it agreed to import 100 megawatts (MW) of hydropower from Laos via the power grids in Thailand and Malaysia.

In September, Malaysia began supplying electricity to Singapore through the collaboration, raising the potential inflow to as much as 200 MW.

The Energy Market Authority wants to bring in more countries. To date, it has granted conditional approval to several projects that aim to import a combined 5,600 MW of low-carbon electricity from Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

It has also given the go-ahead for a project to import solar-generated electricity from Australia via a 4,300-km undersea cable, said Goh.

Singapore’s hunger for green electricity offers opportunities for Chinese companies, Goh added. “We hope to attract Chinese companies to use Singapore as a platform to access infrastructure investment opportunities in Asean countries, particularly in areas of power transmission and energy storage,” he said.

Currently, about 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated from natural gas. The remainder comes from solar power, diesel and other energy sources.

In 2023, Singapore’s electricity consumption rose 1 per cent to reach 55 terawatt-hours. The industrial and commerce and services sectors each accounted for 40 per cent of the country’s electricity consumption, according to data from the Energy Market Authority.

Residential use made up 14 per cent and transport accounted for 5 per cent.

In addition, Singapore is exploring the use of low-carbon fuel alternatives to help achieve its 2050 net-zero emissions goal, with a focus on hydrogen and ammonia.

This year, all new and renovated natural gas power plants in Singapore have been required to be at least 30 per cent hydrogen-compatible in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their power generation process, added Goh.

Singapore is looking to work together with Chinese companies on low-carbon fuels. On Nov 7, the Energy Market Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with PetroChina International to explore opportunities to work together on liquefied natural gas supply chains and joint purchasing. CAIXIN GLOBAL