UAE's Masdar, partners mull 1.2 GW of renewables exports to Singapore from Indonesia

The UAE's renewable energy firm Masdar Singapore's Tuas Power, France's EDF Renewables and PT Indonesia Power may develop clean power projects in Indonesia for export to Singapore, which is seeking to produce a third of its power from low-carbon electricity imports by 2035.

The four companies signed a memorandum of understanding envisaging the development of solar photovoltaic facilities with a capacity of as much as 1.2 GW and potential associated storage, Masdar said in a Jan. 18 statement.

Singapore is working on a long-term plan to decarbonize its electricity supply that combines natural gas, low-carbon electricity imports, renewables, low-carbon alternatives, such as hydrogen, and technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage, to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels, energy regulator Energy Market Authority said in October.

The EMA plans to invite proposals for the supply of up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity imports into the country by 2035.

The Singapore regulator is launching two requests for proposals that will outline the requirements for electricity imports and its low-carbon sources, while disregarding coal-fired generation sources, the EMA said in October.

The first RFP will be to import up to 1.2 GW of electricity starting 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.

"With Tuas Power's ideal location for power imports and skilled workforce, and our parent company, Huaneng Power International's expertise in large scale renewable projects, we are confident this will be a worthy investment for all," Jiang Hanbin, CEO of Tuas Power, said.

Masdar, which is present in some 40 countries, entered the Indonesian market in 2020 through a joint venture with PT PJBI, a unit of the state electricity company, to develop Cirata Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant, the country's first floating solar project. The project is expected to begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The MOU is an extension of EDF Renewables' existing activities in Asia.

"Our parent company, EDF, will be leading the development of the sub-sea cable project for power export purposes," Yalim Ozilhan, Southeast Asia director of EDF Renewables, said. "This project will expand our presence in the region even further, following on from our current activities in Vietnam and Indonesia."