Singapore is embarking on a consultation exercise on importing electricity at the end of the year, taking another step towards diversifying its future energy supplies.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office S Iswaran announced these plans yesterday at the opening of the annual Singapore International Energy Week, now in its fourth year.
Mr Iswaran said the Energy Market Authority (EMA) will start a public consultation exercise by year-end that will look at regulations concerning electricity imports.
“Through this consultation, we aim to gather views from industry players and other stakeholders on how we might import electricity into Singapore, and how such imports can be integrated into our market so as to benefit our consumers,” said Mr Iswaran, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry.
Such a move is part of Singapore’s overall strategy to secure energy supplies, said the minister, who noted that the conference comes at a time of “considerable flux in the global economy and energy landscape”.
The financial woes of the United States and Europe have increased economic uncertainty and clouded the trends for future energy demand, and the prospects for a global treaty on climate change remain unclear, he noted.
Meanwhile, the recent spate of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, and the recent Fukushima nuclear fallout, has increased volatility in energy markets and highlights the policy challenge of governments in securing reliable and affordable energy supplies to sustain economic growth, he said.
Singapore has moved quickly to diversify its energy mix; it is building its first liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal, ready by 2013, which will allow it to import natural gas from other countries around the world.
The idea of importing electricity was initially raised in an Economic Strategies Committee report released last year, and it was recommended that Singapore could import electricity from regional sources such as coal, geothermal and hydropower.
Responding to questions by local media on whether Singapore will consider electricity generated from sources such as coal, Mr Iswaran said: “We would want to keep our options open. We’re not dogmatic or doctrinal about this, what we want to ensure is that the import option… is something that is viable and makes sense from us from an economic and system security point of view, and of course we want to make sure that the technology that we use is one that meets international practice as well.”
Mr Iswaran added that EMA will take next year to conduct the exercise, and it would take “several years” before the required infrastructure can be put in place.
The minister also noted that part of Singapore’s strategy is to encourage innovation and the development of technology, one example being Singapore’s test-bed project on electric vehicles. He announced that the Renault-Nissan Alliance will be joining this test-bed, which already include industry partners such as Mitsubishi Daimler and Bosch.
EMA yesterday updated the Republic on the progress of another test-bed project. The agency announced the appointment of a local consortium to design, build, own and operate a micro-grid in Singapore’s northeastern offshore island, Pulau Ubin, which will use clean energy sources to power the island.
At the same lecture, former executive director of the International Energy Agency Nobuo Tanaka called for collective energy policy- making in Asia. He said it was essential, especially in light of the recent Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan.
“The Japanese incident shows us that we need this coordination… one cannot enhance energy security by risking someone else’s,” he told the gathering of industry leaders.
“The future of energy security is more complex and difficult today. It requires us to work with neighbouring countries to secure and supply energy needs in an affordable and sustainable way. I would like to see Asian countries work together in the future to create a framework that will achieve an interconnected grid in the region,” said Mr Tanaka, who is currently the Global Associate for Energy Security and Sustainability at The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ).
He urged governments to adopt a “green growth” model by promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, electric vehicles and smart grids.
The Singapore International Energy Week, which runs from 31 Oct to 4 Nov, features conferences, exhibitions and networking events and brings together policymakers, industry leaders and academics to Singapore to discuss energy issues.
