- Nations to boost low-carbon electricity trade by 2035.
- Plan to explore Asia’s first cross-border CCS project.
- Deals may attract over $10B for green energy, industry.
Indonesia and Singapore signed agreements to enhance cross-border trade in low-carbon electricity and to work together on carbon capture and storage, announced ministers from both nations in Jakarta.
The electricity agreement reinforced a previous agreement to export solar energy from Indonesia to Singapore, with a group of companies intending to construct facilities and grid systems for power generation and transmission.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations states that they will work to develop policies, regulatory frameworks, and business agreements that facilitate the delivery of Indonesian power to Singapore.
Indonesia anticipates exporting 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035, as indicated by a presentation slide shared by Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
In a separate MOU, the two nations announced they would explore creating a legally binding arrangement for carbon capture and storage that would enable cross-border initiatives to progress.
Minister Tan See Leng of the Singapore government mentioned that if it succeeds, it will be the first project of its kind in Asia.
Energy companies BP, ExxonMobil, and Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina are currently working on CCS initiatives in Indonesia.
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Indonesia, having depleted its oil and gas reservoirs and with saline aquifers that can store hundreds of gigatonnes of CO2, permits CCS operators to allocate 30% of their storage capacity for carbon captured abroad.
The two nations also finalized an agreement for the creation of sustainable industrial zones on various Indonesian islands close to Singapore, such as Batam, Bintan, and Karimun.
Bahlil mentioned that the agreements might attract over US$10 billion in investments from solar panel production, CCS project development, and possible funding for industrial estates.