Singapore approves 1 GW hydropower import project from Malaysia – SPE

The Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA) has granted conditional approval to Sembcorp Utilities Pte. Ltd. to import 1 GW of low-carbon electricity.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sembcorp Utilities will work with its consortium partner, Malaysia’s Sarawak Energy Berhad, to import electricity from hydropower sources in the Malaysian state of Sarawak to Singapore.

A statement from EMA said it had provisionally assessed the consortium’s project proposal as technically and commercially feasible.

The project partners will now have to secure the required approvals from relevant jurisdictions to proceed with the project. The EMA’s conditional approval means it will provide the consortium with regulatory support to continue development of the project, which is expected to be commercially operational around 2035.

The EMA statement added that it will continue to engage all companies on “credible and commercially viable import proposals” that could help decarbonize the country’s energy sector.

Singapore is currently heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, but according to analysis by the International Solar Energy Society, it could be import solar energy from nearby countries Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia via submarine HVDC cables.

In September 2024, EMA gave conditional approval to an export partnership between Shell and Vena Energy 400 MW of solar energy from the Riau Islands in Indonesia to Singapore.

In June 2025, the governments of Singapore and Indonesia arrived signed an agreement to build a solar panel industry in the Riau Islands as part of broader plans to enable cross-border trade in clean energy between the two countries.

A recent report of the International Energy Agency said the integration of solar and wind energy in Southeast Asia will be crucial to meet the growing demand for electricity in the region.

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