Malaysia's largest electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), and Singapore-based solar energy firm Sunseap Group announced yesterday that they are forming a joint venture to trial clean electricity imports into Singapore from Malaysia.
The partnership will import a total of 100MW of electricity through the venture, to be generated from renewable energy sources, TNB and Sunseap said in a joint statement which did not give any financial details.
The venture will contribute to Singapore's long-term efforts to power its future through clean and green energy sources, said Mr Frank Phuan, co-founder and chief executive of Sunseap, which is backed by institutional investors including Goldman Sachs, Temasek and DBS Group Holdings.
In October, Singapore said it plans to trial clean energy imports from Malaysia over two years to assess and refine the technical and regulatory frameworks for power imports into the city-state and boost the security of its energy supply as part of a series of moves aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.
The electricity to be imported by the partners could account for about 1.5 per cent of Singapore's peak electricity demand, and could begin as early as the end of this year via the existing electricity interconnector between Singapore and Malaysia, the joint statement said.
If successful, the venture between Sunseap and TNB will invest in multiple solar farms across Malaysia and tap other forms of clean energy, such as hydro-electricity, from TNB's existing plants to ensure a reliable and stable supply of power into Singapore, the statement said.
Mr Phuan said: "We are pleased to partner Tenaga Nasional, a well-established power grid operator and Malaysia's leading utility company."
Sunseap has a pipeline of projects in Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Cambodia.
It announced in October last year that it will supply Facebook with renewable energy to support its Singapore operations, including the tech giant's custom-built data centre.
In Malaysia, the firm has signed a joint venture with Cenergi SEA to provide residential customers with solar energy through rooftop solar leasing agreements.
REUTERS
•With additional information from The Straits Times
