Singapore Grants Conditional Approval for Importing 400 MW of Solar PV Power from Indonesia

Vena Energy and Shell Eastern Trading have received conditional approval from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) to export 400 MW of solar PV power from Indonesia’s Riau Islands to Singapore.

This approval follows a partnership agreement signed between Vena Energy and Shell in August 2023, centered around Vena Energy’s proposed 2 GW hybrid project. The project will produce 2 GW of solar power and include 8 GWh of utility-scale battery storage, generating over 2.6 TWh of green energy annually.

The initiative aims to provide Singapore with reliable, dispatchable green energy, supporting its transition to a low-carbon future. Vena Energy’s CEO, Nitin Apte, highlighted the project’s role in helping Singapore meet its renewable energy targets while fostering Indonesia’s renewable energy supply chain.

Shell’s chairman in Singapore, Aw Kah Peng, welcomed the EMA’s approval and emphasized the importance of diversifying Singapore’s energy mix with renewable imports. This project is seen as a step towards a regional ASEAN power grid.

Given Singapore’s limited land for renewable energy and high energy demand, importing energy from countries like Indonesia with abundant solar resources is crucial for decarbonization and grid modernization. Singapore is also exploring other cross-border energy projects, such as the AAPowerLink in Australia, which aims to deploy up to 20 GW of solar PV and 42 GWh of storage.

Indonesia aims to install nearly 265 GW of solar PV capacity by 2050, both to meet domestic needs and to support exports.