Two power stations provide more than half the generating capacity in the island nation of Singapore, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
More than three-fourths of the nation's nearly 14 GW of generating capacity is fueled by natural gas and another 19% is currently fueled by oil. Planned capacity in Singapore totals 260 MW, from a mix of biomass and solar.
The largest single operating power plant in Singapore is the 2,775-MW Senoko Combined-Cycle Plant. Its owner, Senoko Energy Pte Ltd., is made up of a consortium including Japanese firms Marubeni Corp., Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc. and Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. and France-headquartered Engie SA. The plant consists of a dozen units that began operating between 1996 and 2012. Also at the site are two remaining operational units, totaling 500 MW, of the Senoko Steam Power Plant (Stages I-III). Six other units have already been retired.
Malaysia-headquartered YTL Power International Bhd. owns the largest amount of generating capacity in Singapore, through its 2,250-MW Pulau Seraya Steam Plant, a nine-unit facility operating on fuel oil, and neighboring 1,472-MW Pulau Seraya Cogeneration Combined-Cycle Plant, which runs on natural gas.
Except for solar and some biomass, Singapore has little access to renewable resources, and with limited space, project developers can get creative. One company, Sunseap Group Pte. Ltd., is developing floating solar facilities and supplying the power to corporate customers under power purchase agreements. EDP - Energias de Portugal SA subsidiary EDP Renováveis SA in February completed its acquisition of a 91% stake in Sunseap, choosing Singapore as its base for an Asia-Pacific region clean energy hub.
Sunseap is also looking beyond Singapore for resources. In April, the company announced a memorandum of understanding with the provincial government of Indonesia's Riau Islands, just across the Singapore Strait from the island state, to locate more than 3,000 MW of solar resources and 6,500 MWh of battery storage resources on the islands of Combol and Citlim. In October 2021, Sunseap signed another memorandum to locate 2,200 MW of floating solar resources on the island of Batam. Resources from the Indonesian islands would be delivered to Singapore via a subsea transmission cable.
Thinking much more boldly, a Singapore-based company called Sun Cable Pte. Ltd. has proposed developing several gigawatts of solar and related energy storage facilities in Australia's Northern Territory and then running a high-voltage, direct-current transmission line from Darwin, Australia, roughly 4,200 km through Indonesia to Singapore, providing the country with about 15% of its electricity needs. A targeted operational date is 2028.
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