EMA grants conditional licence to RGE, TotalEnergies’ Indonesian solar project to import electricity to Singapore

[SINGAPORE] The Energy Market Authority (EMA) on Friday (May 30) granted a conditional licence to Singa Renewables, a joint venture (JV) between RGE and TotalEnergies, to import 1 gigawatt (GW) of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia to Singapore.

This is the sixth electricity import project to be awarded a conditional licence, after EMA in September 2024 raised the low-carbon electricity import target to around 6 GW by 2035, up from the initial target of 4 GW announced in 2021. This is a part of Singapore’s strategy to decarbonise the power sector, which currently accounts for about 40 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions.

Faith Gan, director of energy connections office at EMA, told The Business Times that the government would be open to more electricity imports beyond 6 GW as Singapore’s energy demand grows beyond 2035.

Presenting the conditional licence to the JV, EMA chief executive Puah Kok Keong said: “This licence marks another step forward in our efforts to transform the power sector and deepen regional energy cooperation.”

While electricity import projects help diversify Singapore’s energy supply and reduce carbon emissions, they also bring in investment, create jobs and contribute to the growth of the clean energy sector in partner countries such as Indonesia, he added.

Eric Lombard, France’s minister of the economy, finance and industry, attended the presentation. This was in conjunction with French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Singapore. Dr Tan See Leng, minister-in-charge of energy and science and technology, was also present.

Imelda Tanoto, managing director at RGE, said that the conditional licence was a key milestone, affirming its role in advancing the region’s decarbonisation goals.

Current status of electricity import

EMA’s Gan noted: “To date, EMA has granted 3 GW of conditional licences for electricity imports from Indonesia, as well as 4.35 GW of conditional approvals for electricity imports comprising 0.4 GW from Indonesia, 1 GW from Cambodia, 1.2 GW from Vietnam and 1.75 GW from Australia.” She highlighted different operational timelines for the projects.

Gan noted that not all projects awarded conditional approvals or conditional licences will be implemented, as the importers make business decisions on whether to proceed with their plans after more detailed analysis.

On Friday, Singa Renewables also inked a memorandum of understanding with Singapore Energy Interconnections – a newly incorporated company appointed by the Singapore government – to jointly develop a subsea interconnector to enable electricity imports from Indonesia to Singapore, a step to enhance regional power connectivity.

Singa Renewables, which aims to achieve commercial operations from 2029, received conditional approval from EMA in September 2024. “Since then, the project has made substantive progress, with marine surveys and feasibility studies completed. These are key milestones in demonstrating the project’s technical and commercial viability,” according to EMA’s release.

The conditional licence was granted to Singa Renewables after Singapore-headquartered RGE and France’s TotalEnergies on Wednesday signed a co-investment agreement for a solar photovoltaic plant with integrated battery energy storage under Singa Renewables.

When the obligations in the conditional licences are fulfilled – which includes securing all necessary financing – EMA may subsequently issue the companies an electricity importer licence to commence construction and commercial operations.