Regional grids key to Singapore’s energy future

This report by Ember analyzes Singapore's path to a net-zero power sector by 2045, emphasizing that the city-state's limited land and renewable potential necessitate a heavy reliance on regional grid interconnections and renewable energy imports from neighboring countries to replace natural gas.

• Singapore's domestic renewable energy potential is severely limited by geography and land availability, meaning it cannot achieve net-zero goals alone. Even if the theoretical solar potential of 8.6 GW is fully realized by 2050, it would only meet 12% of the total power demand for that year.
• Under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, the country aims to increase the share of renewable generation from approximately 4% in 2022 to 40% by 2035. This involves increasing solar capacity to 2 GW and importing up to 4 GW of clean electricity from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Viet Nam.
• To align with the International Energy Agency (IEA) net-zero emissions (NZE) milestone for a net-zero power sector by 2045, Singapore would need to significantly accelerate its import targets. Ember estimates that renewable import capacity would need to reach 8.1 GW by 2035 and 16 GW by 2045.
• Singapore's electricity demand is projected to grow by an average of 2.8% to 3.2% annually over the next decade, driven by economic growth, population increases, and the data centre market, which is expected to exceed 1 GW of operational capacity in 2024.
• The report highlights the financial and strategic opportunity for Singapore to lead the Asia-Pacific energy transition. This includes investing in regional projects, such as a $5 billion USD investment for a 3.5 GW solar plant in Indonesia that will export all electricity to Singapore.
• Regional grid interconnection is identified as the primary enabler for renewable energy offtake. Current efforts include the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and potential future connections to India and the UAE via the One World, One Sun, One Grid (OWOSOG) initiative.

APA

Ember (2024). Regional grids key to Singapore’s energy future. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/regional-grids-key-to-singapores-energy-future

Chicago

Ember. Regional grids key to Singapore’s energy future. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/regional-grids-key-to-singapores-energy-future.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Regional grids key to Singapore’s energy future |date=30 April 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/regional-grids-key-to-singapores-energy-future |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2024regional, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Regional grids key to Singapore’s energy future}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/regional-grids-key-to-singapores-energy-future}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }