Singapore's renewables use hits record highs as solar output and imports rise
An analysis of the most recent market data revealed that Singapore increased the share of renewables to a new record in May. The country increased renewable imports while accelerating local solar power production.
Data from the National Electricity Market of Singapore revealed that domestic solar generation rose in May at its fastest rate since March 2024, and renewable imports increased for a third consecutive month, reaching their highest level in over two years. This boosted the share of renewables to 2,58% in the power mix of the city-state.
The cross-border trade of power is seen as a key way to reduce regional dependence on fossil fuels, despite the growing demand for power from data centres.
Singapore, Asia's second smallest country, has a limited renewable energy capacity. About 95% of Singapore's power capacity is generated by gas-fired plants.
The data shows that Singapore imported clean energy of 122.7 million kilowatt hours in the five months up to May. This is 0.52% or the total amount of power generated.
The data revealed that it did not import power in the same time period of last year and began importing only small quantities during the fourth quarter of 2024.
In May, the share of imported power in Singapore's mix increased for a third consecutive month. This displaced some fossil fuels-fired generation. The data revealed that Singapore's electricity production grew by 0.4% in the first five month period.
Singapore has two active cross-border power trade deals: the 200 MW Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore (LTMS) and the 50 MW Energy Exchange Malaysia (ENEGEM) pilot project with Malaysia's state utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
In October, the Singapore Energy Market Authority chief executive stated that the terms of an extended LTMS were still being finalised as Singapore was waiting on Thailand to finalise the details regarding transmission charges for this multilateral deal.
The EMA said in a Friday statement that "discussions are ongoing for future enhancements of the LTMS", without going into further detail.
(source: Reuters)
