Indonesia Signs MoU For Green Electricity Exports With Singapore

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia signed three memorandums of understanding (MoU) with the Singapore government today, Friday, June 13.

The signing, which was carried out with the Minister of Manpower and the Second Minister for Trade and Industry in Singapore, Tan See Leng, is one of the agreements to trade cross-border electricity by 3.4 GW until 2035.

"We send electricity to our brothers in Singapore, now in the results of negotiations, the Singapore government will work together with Indonesia to build a joint industrial area," Bahlil said in his remarks after the signing of the MoU at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Friday, June 13.

Previously, Bahlil still refused to export clean electricity to Singapore because he thought there was no attractive offer to be given by the White Lion country. Now, Singapore has agreed to build an Indutri area on Bintan, Karimun and Batam islands.

"This is what I mean to move forward together, we build some downstream here and our friends in Singapore, we send new and renewable energy," Bahlil added.

This net electricity export collaboration is known to have investment potential of 50 to 50 billion US dollars for solar panel plant investment of 2.7 billion US dollars for solar panel manufacturing and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Meanwhile, in terms of the potential for foreign exchange and oenerance of the country, this electricity export cooperation has the potential to increase foreign exchange by 4 to 6 billion US dollars per year and 210-600 million dollars in potential for additional state revenue.

In addition to cooperation in electricity exports, Bahlil and Tan See Leng also signed an MoU related to the Sustainable Industrial Zone and Cooperation in Cross-Border Carbon Arrest and Storage. If realized, said Bahlil, cross-border CCS cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia will be the first in Southeast Asia and even East Asia.

Bahlil explained that the CCS business with Singapore will generate revenue of up to 200 million US dollars per year with the creation of local work coverage of more than 1,600 for construction and operations.

"We have the capacity for CCS, one of the largest in the world, even the largest in Asia Pacific, because we have former oil wells and gas wells," said Bahlil.