Overview

• Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA) has granted conditional approval to Sembcorp Utilities, allowing them to import 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from Vietnam. This development forms part of Singapore's larger plan to import up to 4GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035.
• In this deal, Sembcorp will partner with Petrovietnam Technical Services to develop offshore wind and other capacity for electricity export to Singapore. The electricity will be transferred via new subsea cables covering approximately 1,000 km.
• EMA has also conditionally approved similar projects involving the import of low-carbon electricity from other Southeast Asian countries, with 2GW from Indonesia and 1GW from Cambodia.
• Singapore started its first import of 100 MW of renewable energy from Laos in June 2022 under the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project. This agreement positions the country to benefit from regional power grids and allows for further diversification away from fossil fuel energy sources.
• To fully activate these projects, Sembcorp and other companies involved must meet the conditions outlined in the conditional approvals, which may include further studies and technical and regulatory considerations. Upon meeting these criteria and securing project finances, the companies can then proceed to obtain a conditional license to commence project construction and testing.