An upgrade to PacificLight Power’s gas-fired power plant in Jurong Island has reportedly boosted its total output by 30 megawatts (MW) and made the plant the first in Singapore to surpass 60% efficiency. The firm claims this will eliminate over 60,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually — the equivalent of taking 9,300 cars off the road.
Siemens Energy delivered the Advanced Turbine Efficiency Package (ATEP) upgrade in two phases; the first was completed in 2023 and the second was completed in February. The upgrade involved installing new hot gas path parts, advanced profiling and aero features, ultra-efficient internal cooling and sealing, and optimised stage loading, among others.
The turbines were functional throughout the process and did not disturb operations, says Thorbjorn Fors, senior vice president at Siemens Energy and managing director of Asia Pacific. PacificLight and Siemens Energy had agreed to the upgrade in March 2021, which marked the first ATEP agreement in Asia.
“High-efficiency gas turbines and digital solutions are revolutionising Singapore's power plants by enhancing operational efficiency and supporting the integration of renewable energy sources,” says Fors to The Edge Singapore. “These advanced turbines offer improved performance and reduced emissions, aligning with Singapore's sustainability goals.”
Siemens Energy is also the supplier for PacificLight Power’s 100MW hydrogen-ready gas turbine facility, part of the 25-year “fast start” contract awarded by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) in April. PacificLight Power is building two power-generating units at an existing power station at Jurong Island, which will provide 100MW of capacity by 2Q2025.
According to PacificLight Power CEO Yu Tat Ming, these units will take just 18 minutes to reach full load from a standstill “cold state”. They will also be able to take hydrogen when Singapore makes the switch from natural gas in the future.
See also: EMA grants conditional approvals to import additional 1.4GW of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia
Meanwhile, Meranti Power — a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMA — is building two new open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) generating units with 340MW of capacity each; they are expected to be ready in mid-2025. Together with the “fast start” units, they will replace Singapore’s existing OCGTs, which are more than three decades old.
Two other new advanced combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) generating units by Keppel and Sembcorp are expected to be ready by 2026 and 2027 respectively. Compared to OCGTs, however, CCGTs take up to 14 hours to reach full generation output from a “cold state”, according to EMA.
Coming collaborations
Last month, Singapore raised its low-carbon electricity import target to 6 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, up from a 4GW target set in 2021. Electricity imports are expected to meet a third of Singapore’s energy needs by 2035, and commercial operations under some import contracts could begin from 2028, said EMA on Sept 5.
EMA announced at the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum in Jakarta that it had granted conditional licences for five solar projects in Indonesia, which could potentially export 2GW of renewable energy to Singapore. These conditional licences are issued to electricity import projects that have been assessed to be technically and commercially viable, and are in an advanced developmental stage.
The largest of the five projects, with an import capacity of 0.6GW, is by Pacific Medco Solar Energy, which was formed by PacificLight Renewables, Medco Power Global, and the Singapore-listed Gallant Venture 5IG .
Projects by EDP Renewables APAC and Adaro Solar International each have an import capacity of 0.4GW, while projects by Vanda RE — formed by Gurin Energy and Gentari International Renewables — and Keppel Energy each have an import capacity of 0.3GW.
Speaking in Jakarta, Second Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Tan See Leng, said Singapore is “prepared to do more” to develop the Asean Power Grid. He added that he will share more details at the upcoming Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2024, which will begin on Oct 21.
Fors says Siemens Energy is “actively engaged” in discussions with developers, utilities and regulators across Asean and Singapore. “As Singapore plans to import 6GW of green energy by 2035 through a combination of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (AC) interconnections across Asia, we are working closely with stakeholders to ensure the integration of these renewable sources.”
Interestingly, Fors reveals that Siemens Energy is collaborating with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) through the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (Fast-P) initiative, an Asia-focused blended finance initiative that the Singapore government unveiled at COP28 in December 2023. “This initiative focuses on renewable energy scaling, grid modernisation and exploring clean technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture,” says Fors.
See also: Singapore announces Asia-focused blended finance initiative Fast-P with US$5 bil target fund size
However, a spokesperson later clarified that Siemens Energy is still in an exploratory phase and has not yet formalised any specific initiatives with MAS.
Few details have been announced since Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean unveiled Fast-P with a US$5 billion target last December. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in June at the inaugural Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Clean Economy Investor Forum that the government has been “working closely” with multilateral development banks and philanthropic organisations to mobilise a base of concessional capital and with banks and institutional investors to bring in commercial capital.
Wong did name a few participants that were in attendance at the forum: “There has been strong momentum, and I’m glad to see several partners gathered here today — the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Allied Climate Partners and Temasek. We welcome many more to join us in this partnership for Asia’s green transition.”
Fors will speak on a panel about advancing regional energy interconnectivity at SIEW 2024 on Oct 21. The other panellists are Hungarian energy minister Csaba Lantos; US Department of Energy assistant secretary of international affairs Andrew Light; Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organisation chairman Xin Baoan; and Ong Teng Koon, managing director of SP Group’s SP PowerInterconnect.
SIEW 2024 and its partner events will be held from Oct 21 to 25 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. President and CEO of Aramco Amin Nasser will deliver a special address on the first day, after speeches by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and his Malaysian counterpart Fadillah Yusof.
