In 2019, Singapore announced its “four switches” strategy — comprising solar energy, regional power grids, low-carbon alternatives and natural gas — to reach net zero by 2050. Of these, natural gas is Singapore’s main source of energy currently.
Net zero by 2050 is rapidly approaching, and countries are scrambling to decarbonise. The urgency has never been greater; in Southeast Asia, where coal-fired power plants average less than 14 years old, fossil fuels will be expected to account for about 70% of the region’s energy mix until the end of the decade.
More jarringly, Asia Pacific will not hit net zero by 2050 unless India, Indonesia and Vietnam reach peak emissions 12 to 18 years earlier, according to the Asia Pacific’s Energy Transition Outlook by BloombergNEF and GenZero, released Oct 16.
To achieve a goal consistent with a 1.75°C warming outcome that aligns with the Paris Agreement goals, the region will need to undergo full decarbonisation in the power, transport, industry and building sectors through the use of clean power. This includes a diverse range of clean energy sources that “may not be commercially viable today,” such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and bioenergy.
In Singapore, efforts to decarbonise have been growing — not only for green reasons but also for practical ones. The power sector currently contributes about 40% of the nation’s carbon footprint, and this figure is rapidly increasing.
Between 2013 and 2022, electricity demand grew at a CAGR of 1.5%. During the pandemic years of 2020–2022, peak electricity demand grew at a CAGR of 2.8% and a new system peak demand of 7.9 gigawatts (GW) was reached in May 2022.
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That year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong outlined Singapore’s national hydrogen strategy, with a target for hydrogen to supply up to half of the country’s power needs by 2050. In July 2023, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) announced a new centralised process calling for companies to build, own and operate a new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant.
YTL PowerSeraya, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa-listed YTL Power International Berhad, won the tender. Work on the 600-megawatt (MW) hydrogen-ready CCGT on Jurong Island began on Oct 23, and the project is expected to cost $800 million.
The plant, set to be built by end-2027, is expected to be 50% hydrogen-capable upon completion. This means it can combust up to a 50% blend of hydrogen and natural gas as feedstock. YTL PowerSeraya will use GE Vernova’s 9 high-efficiency air-cooled (9HA.01) gas turbines, recognised for efficient energy generation, in its power plant.
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The plant can also be retrofitted to achieve 100% hydrogen-readiness in the future. Upon completion, just one of YTL PowerSeraya’s CCGTs will be able to produce three to four-terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, enough to power half of Singapore’s households, says John Ng, CEO of YTL PowerSeraya.
But whether the CCGT will have a 50% hydrogen mix in its energy source come 2027 depends on the commercial availability of hydrogen by then. Today, green hydrogen produced through electrolysis using renewable power costs US$10 per kg ($13.26 per kg) to US$15 per kg, depending on availability.
Grey hydrogen, produced with cheaper fracked natural gas, costs US$2 per kg in the US, while it costs US$5 to US$6 per kg in Europe, Australia and Asia due to higher natural gas prices. Still, global and diverse supply chains have yet to be established and Singapore will need to explore feasible options to import cost-competitive, low-carbon hydrogen, a report by EMA reads.
“At this moment, the original equipment manufacturer has not been able to commit what sort of time frame it will be able to reach 100% hydrogen-ready,” says Ng when asked about future retrofit plans. “Many of the CCGT manufacturers are looking at a timeline of 2030, and maybe slightly beyond, to ensure that all their combined cycles are hydrogen-ready.”
Pivoting to low carbon sources
The announcement of the building of the hydrogen-ready CCGT power plant came during the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2024, which also saw news of other projects and collaboration that will together make up Singapore’s strategy for energy transition and decarbonisation.
Besides the CCGT, the development of a second liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Singapore was announced. Operator Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG) will charter a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a ship that enables the transport and storage of LNG tanks onboard and the conversion of LNG back into gas that is piped back onshore.
It is expected to be operational by the end of the decade, and will bring the combined LNG regasification capacity from 10 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes annually.
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EMA also granted conditional approval to Sun Cable to import 1.75GW of low-carbon electricity from Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore, which is expected to come onshore after 2035. The project, which briefly collapsed in January 2023 after a disagreement between key investors, has since resumed.
In September, Singapore raised its low-carbon electricity import target to 6GW by 2035, up from a 4GW target set in 2021. Singapore also announced that it will double its renewable energy imports from the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, or the LTMS-PIP, to up to 200MW of renewable hydropower.
Renewable energy imports are estimated to contribute to 9% of Singapore’s electricity needs by 2035, and abate 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
As it stands, natural gas accounts for 94.5% of Singapore’s fuel mix, according to EMA. Other energy products such as municipal waste, biomass and solar account for 4.3% while coal and petroleum products make up the rest.
Can tiny Singapore achieve its ambitions to be an AI and quantum computing hub, even as greater electricity demand intersects with the push to decarbonise? Ng thinks there are “a lot of work and activities” that are going on to support energy imports and the interconnectivity of electricity flows across Asean.
“I think Singapore has always been open with regards to what sort of technology is available so that we are able to meet our 2050 net zero goal,” says Ng. At the same time, the country has “always had an ambition of [becoming] an AI hub”, he adds.
“In this year, you can see all these new initiatives are being discussed [and] explored, and new collaborations are being signed to bring about a supply chain in all these things,” says Ng. “As a power company, we will be more than happy to support them [data centre companies], and we will continue to bring low-carbon power in Singapore, and power more data centres."
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