Singapore, Malaysia to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy, says Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“Singapore and Malaysia are both moving towards a low-carbon and sustainable future. We are pursuing cross-border electricity trading, which will be a win-win for both countries,” he said at a joint press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.

Both prime ministers met in Singapore today for the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a joint statement issued at the end of the retreat, the leaders affirmed the commitment to collaborate on renewable energy co-development and cross-border electricity trading.

It said both leaders also looked forward to energy collaboration on other fronts, such as the sharing of low-carbon and renewable energy technologies, carbon capture and storage, and carbon credits.

In this regard, the leaders noted the ongoing discussions for Singapore to import renewable energy from Sarawak, and the Malaysian government will give its assistance in accelerating the process.

Anwar said that Malaysia has given its commitment to supply renewable energy as Singapore has increased investments in Malaysia, including through the setting up of data centres.

“And our commitment (is) to accelerate the proposal by Sarawak to export energy to Indonesia and Singapore,” he said.

In addition, the leaders acknowledged the recently signed memorandum of understanding between Singapore Power and Tenaga Nasional Bhd to explore the technical feasibility of a second interconnector.

The Plentong-Woodlands Interconnector was upgraded in October 2022 to facilitate bidirectional electricity flows of about 1,000 MW between the two countries.

“These efforts will further enhance energy security and enable greater renewable energy integration,” said the statement. – BK