Royal Group Power Co Ltd (RGP) – a subsidiary of locally-owned conglomerate Royal Group of Companies Ltd (RGC) – and Singapore’s Keppel Energy Pte Ltd (KE) have entered into a Power Purchase and Export Agreement (PPEA) for the long-term import and sales of low-carbon power from Cambodian renewable energy sources.
Keppel Energy is the wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd’s (KI). The PPEA was signed in Singapore on March 15 between RGP chairman Kith Meng and KI CEO Cindy Lim, and witnessed by Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem as well as Electricite du Cambodge director-general Keo Rottanak, along with senior Singaporean officials: Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Energy Market Authority (EMA) chief executive Ngiam Shih Chun.
Large-scale electricity import
Keppel Energy’s large-scale electricity import is expected to aggregate low carbon electricity generated from various renewable energy sources in Cambodia, with the ability to scale and hybridise with the vast renewable energy sources in Lao PDR, which will provide greater flexibility and energy resilience. It is envisaged that the power will be transmitted through onshore overhead high voltage transmission lines and subsea high voltage transmission cables from Cambodia to Singapore, and the low carbon electricity will be generated and supplied from an integrated energy system of more than 4 GW of installed capacity comprising largely solar power, complemented by hydro and potentially wind, and will be supported by proven energy storage systems, such as pumped hydro storage and batteries.
Ngiam Shih Chun, Chief Executive of EMA, said, “The Conditional Approval for electricity imports from Cambodia is an important step towards achieving Singapore’s goal of importing up to 4 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon electricity by 2035. Singapore is committed to decarbonizing our power sector, and electricity imports of low carbon electricity from renewable energy sources will help us achieve our net-zero target by 2050.”
The conditional approval from EMA to Keppel Energy paves the way for Singapore’s first-of-its-kind large scale electricity import under EMA’s Request for Proposal to appoint importers to import and sell up to 4 GW of low carbon electricity by 2035. Cindy Lim, CEO of KI, said:
“Building on Keppel’s first-mover advantage in importation and multi-lateral electricity trade, we are embarking on the large-scale renewable electricity importation into Singapore to provide commercial and industrial customers access to a long-term supply that will meet their growing demand for sustainable energy. We would like to thank the governments of Singapore and Cambodia for their support of Keppel’s large-scale cross-border low carbon energy import project. This strategic and innovative project, when completed, will catalyze the regional power grid and accelerate renewable energy growth in ASEAN as well as bolster the region’s energy resilience.”
Subject to requisite regulatory and other approvals, the large-scale low carbon electricity import from Cambodia is expected to commence post-2030. Keppel will leverage its experience in the first multilateral cross-border electricity trade involving four ASEAN countries and the first renewable energy import into Singapore as part of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) to facilitate the successful implementation of the large-scale import of renewables and low-carbon energy. Cindy Lim, CEO of KI, said:
“Keppel Infrastructure is committed to and focused on scaling up and diversifying our renewable and low-carbon energy portfolio so as to support decarbonization efforts across countries and industries. Building on Keppel’s first-mover advantage in importation and multi-lateral electricity trade, we are embarking on the large-scale renewable electricity importation into Singapore to provide commercial and industrial customers access to a long-term supply that will meet their growing demand for sustainable energy. We would like to thank the governments of Singapore and Cambodia for their support of Keppel’s large-scale cross-border low carbon energy import project. This strategic and innovative project, when completed, will catalyze the regional power grid and accelerate renewable energy growth in ASEAN as well as bolster the region’s energy resilience.”
Earlier, the EMA disclosed that this import could potentially constitute approximately 30% of Singapore’s anticipated electricity supply by 2035. This (PPEA) could account for approximately 7.5 per cent of Singapore’s electricity supply in 2035.