Singapore’s Sunseap Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local and international partners to explore and develop solar power systems with a combined capacity of 7 gigawatt-peak (GWp) around the Riau islands, Indonesia, including a previously announced 2.2-GWp floating solar PV in Duriangkang, Batam, also in Indonesia.
Some of the MoU partners include PT Mustika Combol Indah, PT Agung Sedayu, Sumitomo Corporation, Samsung C&T Corporation, Oriens Asset Management, ESS Inc and Durapower Group.
According to Sunseap, the proposed solar power system is one of the largest cross-border interconnect clean energy projects in Southeast Asia and will help Singapore and Indonesia meet their green goals. Other than Batam, one of the islands in the Riau Archipelago being considered for the project is Combol. The plan is to pipe the low-carbon energy to Singapore via a proposed new subsea power cable.
Coupled with multiple energy storage systems totalling more than 12 GWhr, the project is expected to provide 1 GW of non-intermittent low-carbon clean energy for Singapore and Indonesia.
By linking the solar PV systems from the various islands, the consortium hopes to achieve economies of scale and further optimise the capacity of a proposed new subsea cable to Singapore. This will help bring down the cost of transmission, thus reducing the cost of low-carbon electricity imports into Singapore, and ultimately leading to more affordable low-carbon electricity for local consumers.
The consortium aims to match the required low-carbon electricity imports into Singapore of 1.2 GW by 2027 and another 2.8 GW by 2035, as mentioned earlier by Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong.
The Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore has said it will issue two separate requests for proposal to import up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035. The consortium intends to be one of the parties to help fulfil 20-25% of this target.
Frank Phuan, co-founder and CEO of Sunseap said, "This will be one of the most consequential clean energy projects for Singapore and Indonesia. By linking various solar islands to eventually create a 7 GWp system, we are able to further optimise the subsea cable, leading to reduced cost of transmission and hence bring more affordable low-carbon clean energy to everyone in Singapore and Indonesia.
“Through this arrangement, the combined generation capacity will be able to generate and transmit 1 GW of non-intermittent clean energy for both Singapore and Indonesia, establishing both Singapore and Batam as a clean energy gateway and hub in ASEAN and paving the way towards an ASEAN Green Power Grid.”
Durapower, one of the MoU partners, is a global provider of lithium battery storage solutions and is envisaged to jointly contribute and build the energy storage facilities required to create the 1 GW non-intermittent low-carbon electricity in Singapore.
Sunseap said the 7 GWp capacity will be built over time in phases and the energy generated will match the required imports into Singapore. Riau islands will in turn be able to support and commence various green initiatives for industries such as data centres and zero-carbon electronics productions.
Sunseap is also exploring more areas around the Riau islands to increase the overall capacity and further optimise the designated capacity of the subsea cable.
Images: Sunseap
