Implications of S'pore's more ambitious clean import targets

EMA expects natural gas to make up more than 50% of its electricity mix by 2035

- Cheryl Tan

Singapore recently announced it would increase its electricity import goal from 4GW to 6GW by 2035 after giving the green light to import 1.4GW of additional solar power from Indonesia.

With the new deals, 5.6GW of electricity will be imported - from Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam accounting for around 30 per cent of Singapore's energy needs by 2035. Of these, 3.4GW will come from Indonesia.

In a LinkedIn post on Sept 11, Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said that the Government is also keen for the Malaysian state of Sarawak to be a source of renewable energy for Singapore.

What are the implications of these developments?

Q: WILL A LARGER SHARE OF SINGAPORE'S ELECTRICITY NEEDS BE MET WITH CLEAN ENERGY IMPORTS, GIVEN THE NEW TARGETS?

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) says the new target of 6GW will still meet about 30 per cent of Singapore's electricity needs.

This is because the Republic's electricity demand is projected to increase by around 3 per cent to 5 per cent a year over the next decade, and the revised target was made in view of growing energy demand and good progress on credible electricity import projects, said the agency.

Asked whether the share of natural gas in Singapore's energy mix will likely drop, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute director and chief executive Choi Shing Kwok said that the higher power import targets, if they materialise, will help Singapore reduce its share of natural gas, earlier.

EMA has said that it will expect natural gas to make up more than 50 per cent of its electricity mix by 2035, down from over 90 per cent currently.

However, this will also depend on the relative prices of other clean power alternatives, and the progress of other technological solutions such as green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage solutions, and whether Singapore deploys the use of nuclear energy.