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Agence France-Presse

With huge data centres set to drive up its already large demand for energy, the tiny city state of Singapore is looking to Australia’s deserts and Malaysia’s rainforests for clean power.
This week Australia announced a massive solar farm that it hopes will eventually offer two gigawatts of power to Singapore via undersea cable.
Singapore aims to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, but it relies heavily on imported oil and gas.
The city state lacks the conditions to produce either wind or hydropower, and while it aims to generate two gigawatts from locally installed solar by 2030, it does not have space for large solar farms.
Demand, meanwhile, is only set to rise, particularly from data centres, which already account for 7 per cent of Singapore’s electricity consumption. That is projected to grow to 12 per cent by 2030.

To meet that demand, Singapore’s Energy Market Authority has already granted conditional approvals to import 1GW from Cambodia, 2GW from Indonesia and 1.2GW from Vietnam.
Those are from a mix of solar, wind and hydropower, a popular but sometimes controversial energy source in the region, where it has been associated with deforestation and environmental degradation linked to dams.
Renewable imports are expected to account for at least 30 per cent of Singapore’s electricity by 2035, according to think tank Ember.
But there are “many challenges”, warned Niels de Boer, chief operating officer at Nanyang Energy Research Institute, including transmission distances, energy losses and intermittency.
The plans envisage 4,300km of undersea cable and the project still needs signoffs from Singapore’s energy regulators, Indonesia’s government and Australian indigenous communities.

The city state is already seeing some of those play out in complications over hydropower transmission from Laos via Thailand and Malaysia, said Ong Shu Yi, ESG research analyst at banking group OCBC in Singapore.
There can be “disagreements over how the energy will be transmitted through different countries, as well as competition among economies for access to renewable energy”.
Singapore currently relies on imported fossil fuel, but that can be bought on the open market.
“A large-scale bilateral agreement for renewable energy imports limits Singapore’s strategic flexibility,” said Zhong Sheng, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Energy Studies Institute.
In cases of disruption, “there may be few alternative renewable sources to compensate”.
That makes it key for Singapore to diversify its sources of renewable energy.
“The more one can diversify the better in terms of energy security,” said Euston Quah, director of the Economic Growth Centre at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
“Having this additional Australian source of energy supply can only be a good thing.”
Singapore can also mitigate risk by involving regional bodies like Asean, experts said.

The city is in some ways unique, with an increasingly high power demand that is five times the regional average.
But it is far from alone in looking abroad to meet its needs, said Bradford Simmons, senior director for energy, climate and resources at Bower Group Asia.
Thailand already imports 12 per cent of its electricity, generated from coal and hydropower, according to the International Energy Agency.
The “mismatch” between countries that can produce renewable energy and those with huge demand “will only accelerate the incentives for international electricity trade”, Simmons said. “Singapore is merely part of a broader global trend.”


Demand from Singapore also holds promise for the region’s “massive untapped renewable energy” potential, said Dinita Setyawati, senior Southeast Asia electricity policy analyst at Ember.
It could “drive a clean energy transition in the region and pump up heightened renewable energy ambitions,” she said.
Officials from Laos to Malaysia’s Sarawak region specifically reference Singapore’s demand when discussing plans to bolster renewable generation.
And the city state’s appetites and financial resources could help cut through obstacles, said Zhong.
“The urgency and scale of efforts are often influenced by domestic policies, resource endowments, financial capabilities, and technological capabilities,” he said.
“Singapore’s leadership in this area could inspire more coordinated regional efforts in low-carbon energy transition.”


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Singapore

Energy-hungry Singapore eyes Malaysia’s rainforests, Australia’s deserts, for clean power

Rainforest is cleared in Malaysian Borneo. Officials from Malaysia’s Sarawak reference Singapore’s demand when discussing plans to bolster renewable generation. Photo: Shutterstock

A worker on a floating solar power farm off Singapore’s northern coast. Photo: AFP

A wind farm in Australia. Singapore lacks the conditions to produce either wind or hydropower. Photo: Bloomberg

Flags of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Asean flag, are seen during a regional forum in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

AI-driven data centre expansion tests Asia-Pacific’s renewable energy readiness

A Keppel employee poses for photos during a tour of their rooftop solar panels at their Keppel Bay Tower office building in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Aerial view of a small solar farm in Puchong, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock

A data centre of China Mobile in southwest China’s Guizhou Province. Photo: Xinhua

EU and China should join hands to lead new era of green trade

Illustration: Stephen Case

A model of an engine powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology is displayed at the VivaTech conference in Paris, France, on May 24. Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images

A spectator cools off in a mister near the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Concorde stadiums in Paris, France, on July 30. The EU’s climate monitor said this month it is “increasingly likely” 2024 will be the hottest year on record. Photo: Bloomberg

China and Australia can team up to boost Asean’s energy transition

Activists display posters reading “stop buying Indonesia’s dirty nickel” and “Indonesia has become a sacrifice zone for the electric vehicle industry” in Jakarta on June 13. Australia’s waste management practices, mine site rehabilitation and indigenous community engagement have often been cited as global examples of sustainable mining. Photo: AFP

HKIC-backed start-up Spark forms historic Thai partnership for EV charging stations

Dignitaries attend a ceremony to launch a partnership between  the HKIC and Spark. (From left) Spark COO Voravee Plookcharoen, Thai consul-general Chaturont Chaiyakam, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, HKIC CEO Clara Chan and Spark CEO Vincent Yip. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

China’s new green-transition guidelines show how the embattled industry will power on

Solar panels collect sunlight at the fishing-solar complementary photovoltaic power generation base in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on July 31. Photo: AFP

A solar-thermal energy storage power station is seen in China’s Gansu province last month. Photo: Xinhua

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Singapore is looking to its neighbours for sources of renewable energy as it aims to reach net zero by 2050 despite challenges


Singapore is looking to its neighbours for sources of renewable energy as it aims to reach net zero by 2050 despite challenges.
