Kevin Chen
29 Oct 2021 06:11AM
(Updated: 29 Oct 2021 06:11AM)
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Importing electricity is not simply a convenience for Singapore, but a necessary measure to meet its electricity needs and climate goals.
Around 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity supply is dependent on imports of natural gas.
Plans to indigenously produce renewable energy through rooftop and floating solar installations are important steps but would at best fulfil 4 per cent of the island’s electricity needs by 2030.
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At present, Singapore will trial importing up to 100 megawatts (MW) each of low-carbon or clean electricity from three sources: Malaysia, solar power from Indonesia, and hydropower from Laos via Thailand and Malaysia.
There are also initiatives by Sembcorp and Sunseap to respectively develop a 1GWp (Gigawatt peak) solar and energy storage project in Indonesia’s Batam-Bintan-Karimun region and a combined 7GWp development in the wider Riau islands, some of which will be exported to Singapore.
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However, the country that most directly determines if Singapore can reach its electricity-importing goals is Australia.
Through the A$30 billion (S$30.15 billion) Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPL), Australian company Sun Cable aims to dispatch solar energy from a 12,000 ha solar farm in a northern Australian desert to Singapore through a 4,200km undersea cable.
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The project can satisfy 15 to 20 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity needs.
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While these plans give cause for optimism, they are subject to local pushback in exporting countries. Two overlapping political forces might derail Singapore’s attempts to import renewable energy from its partners.
First, there are strong domestic coalitions who stand to lose if their countries ramp up their renewable energy capacity. Australia and Indonesia are the world’s top two coal exporters The coal industries of both countries wield considerable political influence.
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Second is the issue of energy nationalism. Indonesia in February 2020 announced it will end natural gas exports to Singapore to concentrate on domestic use after the existing contract expires in 2023.
Malaysia’s recent announcement that it will limit renewable energy exports to Singapore to meet its own climate goals follows this trend too
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