SunCable welcomes the Singapore Government’s announcement to 4GW of electricity by 2035

367

Sun Cable welcomes the Singapore Government’s announcement today that it will import up to 4GW of electricity by 2035 and will run a competitive market process. This is a strong commitment to reduce emissions and achieve an energy transition that meets Singapore’s economic and sustainability goals. 

Sun Cable sees an enormous opportunity for Singapore to be a leader in energy transition, leveraging existing technologies in electricity transmission projects, to build Singapore’s access to renewable electricity and support the development of the ASEAN Power Grid. 

Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister Gan Kim Yong’s stated: 

“Subsea electricity transmission technology is not new. In fact, it has already been widely adopted in Europe, UK and other Nordic countries for decades. There are numerous new electricity import projects being developed around the world even as we speak.”

This announcement comes at an important time, as Sun Cable announces that it is open to expressions of interest from customers in Singapore that desire net zero electricity. Sun Cable is working with significant potential offtakers in Singapore, with the aim of forming strategic partnership opportunities for the provision of electricity into Singapore.   

Sun Cable announces the opening of an expression of interest period for customers in Singapore who are seeking zero-emission electricity from the Australia-Asia PowerLink. Sun Cable is also releasing its research on the economic and environmental opportunity from greater grid connectivity in the Asia Pacific region, at the Asia Clean Energy Summit. 

With demand for reliable, renewable energy soaring in Singapore, the Australia-Asia PowerLink project has recently been granted approval from the Indonesian government to survey the route through Indonesian waters, and just last week, the group announced its Integrated Project Delivery Team (IPDT), which includes some of the world’s most recognised leaders in delivering complex infrastructure projects. With trail-blazing partners including Bechtel, Hatch, Marsh, PwC Australia and SMEC (a member of the Surbana Jurong Group), the AAPowerLink project is on track to begin construction from 2024 and starting supply of electricity to Darwin by the end of 2026 and Singapore in 2027. 

Sun Cable’s landmark AAPowerLink is a USD23 billion project harnessing Australia’s massive solar energy and delivering it to Singapore via the world’s largest renewable electricity transmission network. It has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 6 million tonnes per year in Singapore, which would contribute towards meeting Singapore’s 2030 carbon abatement target of peaking emissions at 65 MtCO2e.

Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink can propel the Asia Pacific towards a par with Europe in Renewable Energy Transmission. 

“Asia Pacific is significantly behind Europe when it comes to renewables and grid interconnectivity,” said Dr Fraser Thompson, a globally recognised expert on sustainable development, who is a co-founder of Sun Cable. “However, Asia Pacific has great potential to be a leader in renewable energy import / export and the AAPowerlink project is proof of what is possible when countries work together to share resources more efficiently.” 

“Greater grid connectivity is crucial to the energy transition in the Asia Pacific – our research showed that it could be a major driver of jobs creation, industry development, decarbonisation and significantly lower energy costs. By 2040, greater grid connectivity in the Asia Pacific could create up to 870,000 jobs and reduce emissions by roughly 3 times Japan’s total current carbon emissions.”

In Europe, around 11.5% of electricity generated is traded among member states, while this is only around 0.3% in Asia. With energy demand rising faster in Asia than other parts of the world, major investment is needed to ensure that growing Asian economies can meet their energy needs. 

Dr Thompson, whose past work includes developing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and working with Temasek on sustainable energy transition in Asia, as well as with the World Bank, is a keynote speaker at the Asia Clean Energy Summit. He says that interconnection in Europe is supporting a much more robust energy market and Asia needs to invest significantly to catch up.

With the recent meeting between Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, both governments have agreed to strengthen the Australia-Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with a focus on furthering cooperation in low-emissions solutions and expanding the Green Economy Agreement (GEA). In 2019, the AAPowerlink had also received major project status in Australia in recognition of its significance and positive potential impact.

“Singapore has a strong reputation for adopting new technology to advance its sustainable ambitions and it is fitting that the Asia Clean Energy Summit is being held here,” said Dr Thompson. “The AAPowerlink can provide the means to further accelerate Singapore’s green economy and promote its goal of becoming a leading carbon trading and services hub.”

Currently, about 95% of Singapore’s electricity is generated from natural gas, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions. While scaling up the country’s capabilities in solar requires better Energy Storage Solutions (ESS), this is a factor which Sun Cable’s AAPowerlink is addressing, by using game-changing technology to produce the world’s largest solar battery and longest subsea cable system, connecting both countries. This will ensure that reliable, renewable energy can be stored efficiently for later dispatch. 

As a tropical low-lying island state which receives regular rainfall, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to environmental threats and its small size means that it must partner with other countries in the region to meet its sustainability targets. Australia is a reliable and stable trading partner which receives a higher share of quality solar energy than other countries in the region.

“Since we first envisioned the Australia-Asia PowerLink, we have consistently hit our targeted milestones. The confidence of our project delivery partners and government support have shown us that we are on the right track, and that the AA PowerLink can truly move the needle on emissions in a significant way, with the potential to revolutionize regional grid connectivity,” said Dr Thompson. 

In the meantime, Sun Cable is engaging with commercial and industrial power users in Singapore with strong emphasis on meeting their sustainability targets. The enthusiastic response from these power users is an indication of a strong demand for renewable power in Singapore. The engagement will continue over the next few months.

Received from Press Release