Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) have set up a workgroup to support and further study regional energy connectivity in Southeast Asia.
According to an Oct 8 announcement by MTI, the workgroup includes regional countries and multilateral partners, industry experts, policymakers and researchers from various energy sectors.
Both countries first expressed interest in a feasibility study on the sidelines of the US-Southeast Asia Clean Energy Roundtable in Singapore in July 2022. Singapore and the US later embarked on the first phase of the joint feasibility study in April 2023, tapping on experts from the US DOE’s intergovernmental Net Zero World Initiative.
The two parties have now decided on the terms and approach for the next phase of a feasibility study on regional energy connectivity.
Both countries will commence a follow-up study on legal and financing frameworks for regional energy connectivity in Southeast Asia at Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2024, which will begin on Oct 21. According to MTI, this follow-up study will include more partner countries.
Singapore and the US will further their cooperation through the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) first-ever Regional Cooperation Centre, which will be located in Singapore and launched at SIEW 2024.
Announced at the IEA’s 50th Anniversary Ministerial in February, the new centre builds on Singapore’s longstanding participation at the IEA as an association country and will be the first energy-focused international organisation in Singapore.
The centre aims to work with all countries in Southeast Asia to accelerate their clean energy transitions while enhancing regional and global energy security, says MTI.
