00:00To wrap up, Asia is powering ahead as the world's fastest growing energy market.
00:05But with climate threats and security concerns rising, the region must transform how it fuels its future.
00:11This week in Singapore, global and regional leaders are meeting to push cooperation and accelerate the energy transition.
00:18Farnaz Sheh has a story from Singapore International Energy Week 2025.
00:23I'm here at the SANS Expo and Convention Center for the Singapore International Energy Week 2025.
00:30This annual event unites policymakers, industry leaders and innovators from around the world to shape the future of energy.
00:37With the team Envisioning Energy Tomorrow Building Systems Today, the mission is clear to balance sustainability, security and affordability as Asia accelerates its energy transition.
00:48Now, the summit opens with the Singapore Energy Lecture delivered by Minister Dr. Tan Si Ling, outlining Singapore's strategy to strengthen regional integration and build resilience through diversified energy pathways and cross-border power trade.
01:03Singapore cannot build this grid alone.
01:09We must partner other countries.
01:11We have made strong progress with partners from Indonesia, from Malaysia, from Vietnam, from Cambodia and Australia.
01:19And I have Secretary Sharon Garan sitting next to me.
01:23Eventually, we hope to include the Philippines as well.
01:26We are working closely with Indonesia to implement the Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, on Clause for the Electricity Trade, signed in June this year.
01:37With the strong support from both governments, I'm optimistic that the first wave of electricity import projects will reach financial close very soon.
01:47And we can see commencements of flow within this decade.
01:54For Malaysia, as announced at the 43rd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting AMAM two weeks ago,
02:00we have granted conditional approval to a project to import around 1 gigawatt of hydropower from Sarawak to Singapore.
02:08This complements the other projects that supply solar or wind power to Singapore.
02:17And it brings the total capacity of conditional approvals and conditional licenses awarded to more than 8 gigawatts.
02:26And we are also undertaking a full feasibility study to develop a second interconnector between Singapore and Malaysia.
02:34This second interconnector could provide up to 2 gigawatts of bilateral interconnection capacity by 2030
02:44to supplement the existing 1 gigawatt of capacity that we have from the current interconnector.
02:52Now, across the week, leaders from ASEAN, global energy firms and multilateral bodies will tackle the big questions.
02:59How can Asia secure clean power?
03:01How fast can cross-border grids scale and which technologies, from hydrogen to smart grids and AI, will shape the next decade?
03:10Now, to talk about the week ahead is Energy Market Authority Chief Executive, Hua Kok Kiong, setting the tone for the week.
03:17It is a project that will take the next 10, 20, even 30 years to fully materialize a full-blown ASEAN power grid.
03:26We have to take it in steps, right?
03:28So, some of the initial steps has to be to build country-to-country interconnections.
03:33So, in this regard, between Singapore and Malaysia, for example, we already have a 1 gigawatt interconnector.
03:39And this is really useful for both providing mutual support during times of power disruption in either Malaysia or Singapore,
03:46as well as to allow for a certain amount of energy trading.
03:50And the Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore Power Interconnection Project is one example of the kind of energy trading that can happen based on that single interconnector.
04:00Hua also lays out Singapore's energy journey, stressing that regional interconnectivity will be critical to securing the region's power future.
04:10How do we get from where we are today, in many countries, still mainly a fossil fuel-based energy system,
04:16to one that is based on clean energy and one that is net zero?
04:20In Singapore's case, for example, 95% of our power is generated from natural gas that we import from Malaysia and from Indonesia in the form of pipe gas
04:32and from around the world in the form of liquefied natural gas.
04:36So, for us, in order to decarbonise, we did look for many alternative energy supplies.
04:42This includes looking at renewable energy such as solar.
04:45We can do some of that in Singapore, but there's only so much we can do due to the lack of space.
04:50So, one key strategy for Singapore's decarbonisation is to look at regional interconnectivity
04:55because countries around the region here have a plentiful amount of renewable energy resources,
05:02be it in terms of solar, wind, or hydropower.
05:06So, in this light, we are working with companies and countries in this region
05:13to develop renewable energy resources in these places
05:17and then bringing them to Singapore via energy interconnections.
05:22And due to the archipelic nature of this part of the world,
05:26these have to be via subsea cables.
05:29And we have set for ourselves a target of achieving up to 6 gigawatt worth of electricity imports by that time.
05:37So, that's one objective we have, is to look at regional interconnectivity
05:41in order for us to bring power into Singapore.
05:43With the region pushing ahead on the ASEAN Power Grid,
05:48he highlights both the opportunities and barriers that still stand in the way of its development.
05:55The ASEAN Power Grid is a project that has been talked about for quite a long time, right?
05:59Since the late 1990s, so it's about almost 30 years.
06:04But in recent years, it's gathered a lot more momentum.
06:08Why is that so?
06:09First, technologies have improved.
06:12First, the cost of deploying renewable energy is now cheaper than what it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.
06:21The ability to build long-distance transmission cables, both overland as well as under the sea,
06:30have also improved tremendously.
06:31And countries are also now a lot more committed to decarbonization.
06:39So, these factors of technology, cost, and the political will among countries in Southeast Asia to decarbonize
06:46can now make the ASEAN Power Grid a reality.
06:49But we are also cognizant and realistic that it is not something that we can achieve overnight.
06:56It is a project that will take the next 10, 20, even 30 years to fully materialize a full-blown ASEAN Power Grid.
07:05We have to take it in steps, right?
07:07So, some of the initial steps have to be to build country-to-country interconnections.
07:12So, in this regard, between Singapore and Malaysia, for example, we already have a 1 gigawatt interconnector.
07:17And this is really useful for both providing mutual support during times of power disruption in either Malaysia or Singapore,
07:25as far as to allow for a certain amount of energy trading.
07:29And the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project is one example of the kind of energy trading that can happen
07:36based on that single interconnector.
07:38Right, CU 2025 promises not just dialogue but direction as Asia accelerates towards a low-carbon interconnected energy future.
07:47So, stay tuned for more updates.
07:49I'm Fana Shea reporting from CU 2025 only on Estrawani.
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