Singapore to import up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035

Singapore's Energy Market Authority plans to invite proposals for the supply of up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity imports into the country by 2035, as part of efforts to decarbonize the power sector, the energy regulator said in a statement Oct 25.

The low-carbon electricity imports are expected to account for around 30% of Singapore's electricity supply in 2035 and the remaining supply will come from other sources, including gas-fired power, solar and waste-to-energy plants, the EMA said.

The regulator expects to launch the first request for proposal, or RFP, in November and the second in the second quarter of 2022. The two RFPs will outline the requirements for electricity imports and its low-carbon sources, while coal-fired generation sources will not be considered, the EMA said.

The first RFP will be to import up to 1.2 GW of electricity expected to begin by 2027, while the second RFP will be for the remaining electricity imports by 2035. The power sector accounts for around 40% of Singapore's carbon emissions, and 95% of its current electricity supply comes from gas-fired plants.

Singapore is working on a long-term plan to decarbonize its electricity supply that combines natural gas, low-carbon electricity imports, renewables, and low-carbon alternatives like hydrogen and technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage, which can reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels, EMA said.

"Regional power grids will enable Singapore to access low-carbon energy beyond our shores, while supporting regional decarbonization efforts," it said. "The RFPs for electricity imports will allow Singapore to further our efforts in developing regional power grids and supporting regional decarbonization, while supporting our climate action and diversifying our energy sources."

EMA said it has been working with various partners over the last two years on trials to import electricity, including fine tuning the technical and regulatory frameworks for importing electricity.

It has appointed YTL PowerSeraya Pte Ltd for a two-year trial to import 100 MW of electricity from Peninsular Malaysia via the existing interconnector and imports are expected to commence early 2022.

EMA is also working on a pilot project with a consortium led by power generation company PacificLight Power Pte Ltd to import 100 MW equivalent of non-intermittent electricity from a solar farm in Pulau Bulan, Indonesia, via a new interconnector, expected to be commissioned by around 2024.

Singapore is also working on the Lao-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project to import up to 100 MW of power from Laos to Singapore via Thailand and Malaysia using existing interconnections from 2022 to 2023.

Hydrogen and CCUS

The Singapore Government also awarded $55 million to 12 research and development projects on low-carbon energy technology solutions, mainly in two key areas of hydrogen and CCUS.

The hydrogen funding will go towards reducing costs and increasing efficiencies of hydrogen-related processes, and CCUS projects will explore using captured CO2 to make alternatives to sand which can be used for construction purposes, the government said at the Singapore International Energy Week 2021.

"Low-carbon Hydrogen has the potential to be a game-changer for Singapore's energy transition," Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said at the Singapore Energy Lecture, a part of the same conference.

He said the deployment of hydrogen faces three key challenges –the need to establish global supply chains for hydrogen, infrastructure for hydrogen import, storage, distribution, and end-use and the costs of hydrogen transport, storage and use that need to be competitive for widespread adoption.

"The Government is investing resources to understand the potential for hydrogen deployment in Singapore and overcome the barriers to adoption," he said, adding that the EMA is exploring the trial use of Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas (HENG) as a fuel at existing power plants and the import of low-carbon hydrogen.

With respect to renewables, solar will likely constitute about 3% of Singapore's total electricity demand in 2030, with a target of 1.5 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2025 and at least 2 GWp by 2030, the regulator said.

Meanwhile, Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, said at the conference that Singapore was working with Southeast Asian countries on energy transition.

"Under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation Phase II: 2021-2025, ASEAN countries have agreed to the collective and aspiration target to have one-fifth of ASEAN's energy mix comprising of renewable energy," he said.