Everything About S’pore Buying Electricity from M’sia Simplified for You

It’s very well-known that Singapore buys its water from Malaysia.

But now, we’re adding another thing to the list: electricity.

Today (26 Oct 2020), Minister of Trade and Industry (MTI) Chan Chun Sing announced that Singapore’s now exploring alternatives to making our country even more environmentally-friendly than it is now.

One of the ways they’re doing so is to buy electricity from Malaysia.

If you’re wondering about the how, where and what, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming arrangement.

Everything About S’pore Buying Electricity from M’sia Simplified for You

If this is your first time hearing about it, that’s because it’s pretty new.

So new that Singapore is going to trial the purchase arrangement for two years.

The plan is to import 100 megawatts of electricity over this period, which accounts for 1.5% of Singapore’s peak electricity demand.

A request for proposal (read: ask for quotation) will be issued by Mar 2021 and, should things go smoothly, the imports will proceed by the end of 2021 via existing infrastructure.

Could Open Up To More Countries

This trial arrangement could set the foundation for more of such purchases for Singapore.

Meant to open up the avenue to purchasing clean energy from regional neighbours, Minister Chan thanked Malaysia for offering such strong support for the venture.

If it goes smoothly, Singapore will be looking at extending the purchase option to more countries.

It was reported in Nov 2019 that two Australian billionaires have invested millions of dollars to import electricity from Northern Australia to Singapore via a voltage cable deep in the sea.

Becoming A ‘Green Spark’ For The World

It seems that Singapore has big ambitions to survive in tomorrow’s world.

Minister Chan said that Singapore has plans to transform into the “bright green spark” of the world which comes up with innovative and creative solutions to spark ideas for living in a more sustainable, yet high quality, manner.

Other than importing electricity, Singapore is also looking at two other ways to become the epitome of sustainable living.

Solar Power

One is to place more infrastructure to create more electricity out of the sunshine we experience all year round.

The goal is to generate 1.5 gigawatt-peak of “solar deployment” (solar panels) by the year 2025, meeting 2% of our electricity needs.

Previously, that target was set for 2030, according to The Straits Time.

Solar batteries (to store electricity from solar panels) are also needed to deal with the on-and-off sunshine conditions of Singapore.

Lower Carbon Emissions

Another way is to reduce the carbon emission of Singapore.

One way envisage by Minister Chan is to replace fuel with hydrogen.

Another is to put into place infrastructure that’ll “suck” the CO2 right out of the air.

Technology hasn’t quite caught up with the ideas yet but the government has set aside S$49 million for the R&D to make it possible.

The Key Here Is Creativity

Singapore, Minister Chan said, is an energy-challenged country.

For example, we’ll love to deploy many solar panels but we just don’t have the space for that.

But that hasn’t stopped us from trying to creatively solve problems, just as how we tackled Covid-19 and kept transmission down even though logic dictates we should’ve sunk months ago.

Other than the plans and challenges, Singapore is also looking for talents in the sustainability sector, so if you’re unemployed or looking for another field to excel in, this could just be the one for you.

You can find out more here.