Singapore, China to supply solar-plus-storage power from Indonesia

Singapore-based ERA and China’s CREI , a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, signed a framework agreement to jointly invest in and develop a 900 MW solar and 1.2 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Indonesia’s Riau Islands.

CREI will lead generation-side investment, construction, and operation, while ERA will handle transmission and offtake coordination. The project is expected to be completed in 2029.

The project marks the first under ERA’s Singapore-Indonesia renewable energy program, for which the company is among six granted conditional licenses by Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) to import clean electricity. Under the license, ERA can transmit 400 MW(ac) of renewable power to Singapore via subsea cables.

Singapore plans to import around 6 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035 to meet roughly one-third of its energy demand and advance toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We are exceedingly bullish on the demand for low-carbon energy in Singapore and our vision from day one has been to position ourselves to meet this burgeoning need,” said ERA founder and CEO Frank Phaun. “This utility-scale project is the first and major step for ERA to turn vision into impact.”

In June, Singapore and Indonesia agreed to develop a solar panel industry in the Riau Islands as part of broader cross-border clean energy trading initiatives. EMA has also granted conditional approval to Malaysia’s Sembcorp Utilities to import 1 GW of low-carbon hydropower.

A recent report from the International Energy Agency and another study by the International Solar Energy Society indicates that integrating solar and wind across Southeast Asia, and connecting countries via undersea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables, will be critical to meeting growing regional electricity demand.