Singapore’s low-carbon electricity 2035 target is ‘aspirational’: EMA

[SINGAPORE] The Republic’s target of importing 6 gigawatt (GW) of low-carbon electricity by 2035 is aspirational, said a spokesperson from the Energy Market Authority (EMA) on Monday (Oct 12).

“How much of it materialising will depend on several factors, including source-country and transit country regulatory approvals, and the extent of commercial demand among Singapore-based electricity consumers,” added the spokesperson who was responding to queries from The Business Times.

BT had sought comments from EMA following a report from global research and consultancy group Wood MacKenzie last week that Singapore is likely to miss this target, as low-carbon electricity imports are expected to account for only half of that ambition, which translates to 15 per cent of Singapore’s total power-generation mix by then.

The renewable energy-disadvantaged city-state has set a target of importing 6 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, which would meet about one-third of its energy demand, as part of its broader plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Singapore currently generates 95 per cent of its electricity from natural gas. EMA has granted conditional licences and approvals to import renewable energy from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia, representing a total capacity of 9.25 GW.

However, Wood MacKenzie pointed out that none of these EMA-approved projects have begun construction. It noted that the low-carbon projects most viable to commence operations by 2035 would likely be the two projects in Malaysia. These aim to import 900 megawatts of clean energy from the state of Johor and around 1 GW from the state of Sarawak.

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Projects with Indonesia – which include six conditional licences – could be a potential game changer for Singapore’s plan to import 6 GW of clean energy.

However, these have largely stalled because Indonesia’s electricity regulations require export permits to be renewed every five years, and allow quotas to be revoked if domestic supply is at risk.

Furthermore, projects with Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia do not even have a visible construction timeline, said Wood MacKenzie.

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EMA’s spokesperson said that low-carbon electricity imports remain a key part of Singapore’s efforts to decarbonise the power sector and diversify its energy supply.  

Projects that have received conditional approvals or conditional licences can be expected to progress at different speeds given the scale and complexity of cross-border developments.

“To reach financial close, they will still need to achieve further project development milestones. These include obtaining all requisite approvals from relevant jurisdictions, concluding power purchase agreement and securing sufficient financing,” added the spokesperson.

Beyond electricity imports, Singapore is also pursuing other low-carbon energy sources including solar, biomethane, ammonia and geothermal energy.

The Republic is also assessing if advanced nuclear energy technologies would be suitable for the country.

“Meanwhile, we will continue building up our natural gas importation infrastructure and diversifying our natural supplies to ensure we have sufficient and secure energy supplies to meet our economy’s needs,” said the spokesperson.

Separately, EMA on Monday has renewed an agreement with a Hong Kong government agency that provides electrical, mechanical engineering and building services, to deepen cooperation in energy security and resilience, including in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and digital power grids.

The renewed partnership will provide an expanded framework to work together on electricity and gas markets, renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, along with energy efficiency.