Sunseap, Singapore’s largest clean energy solutions provider, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the provincial government of the Riau Islands in Indonesia on April 19.
The MoU was signed between Sunseap’s co-founder and business CEO Frank Phuan and Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad at the Indonesian embassy in Singapore.
The agreement will see Sunseap developing solar energy plants and energy storage systems (ESS) over 3,000 hectares of land. The plants will supply electricity to the Islands and Singapore.
According to Sunseap, it has looked into the feasibility of building the plants and ESS on several islands within the province, including the islands of Combol and Citlim. The research conducted by Sunseap includes surveys and location mappings, technical planning, and environmental and social impact analyses.
At Combol island, Sunseap is looking into a 1,380 megawatt peak (MWp) solar power plant and a 3,000 megawatt hour (MWh) ESS, while it is exploring the feasibility of building a 1,682 MWp solar plant and 3,500 MWh ESS on Citlim island.
Both islands lie southwest of Batam island, where Sunseap has previously signed an MoU with BP Batam to build US$2 billion ($2.72 billion) worth of floating photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems on the Duriangkang reservoir. The systems will be able to generate some 2.2 gigawatt-peak of electricity, with storage capacity of more than 6,300MWh.
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On the signing of the MoU, Sunseap’s Phuan says, “The Riau Islands are uniquely situated to become a major player in the energy transition in Southeast Asia. Sunseap is excited with this opportunity to work with the provincial government to transform the renewable energy landscape in the Riau Archipelago.”
“The projects being planned will supply cost-efficient clean energy to surrounding Indonesian communities and Singapore, and importantly, create thousands of jobs in a fast-growing industry for the Riau province,” he adds. “We are confident that solar energy, in addition to helping the Riau Islands decarbonise, will also lead to dramatic long-term cost savings for businesses and communities.”
Pak Ansar says: “We look forward to working with Sunseap and all its international partners to tap the potential of the Riau Islands, which has an abundance of resources needed to produce renewable energy including sun, wind, biomass and biogas.”
“With Sunseap’s expertise, we hope to be able to accelerate our plans to transform Riau Islands into a renewable energy hub in Indonesia and to lower energy costs for our people and our industries,” he adds.
