
Singapore taps TotalEnergies-RGE JV for subsea link to import clean power from Indonesia
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - A Singapore government-appointed company will develop a subsea interconnector with Singa Renewables, a joint venture between Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) and France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab for low-carbon electricity imports from Indonesia.
Singapore Energy Interconnections (SGEI), a company appointed by the Singapore government to oversee the development of interconnections to enable electricity imports into Singapore, said on Friday that it had inked a memorandum of understanding with Singa Renewables for the project.
However, the companies did not give any financial details or say when the project would be completed in the statement.
The companies said that the project supports Singapore's target of importing up to six gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035 and strengthens its partnership with Indonesia in contributing to realising the vision of the ASEAN Power Grid.
In a separate statement, Singa Renewables said it has been granted conditional licence from Singapore's Energy Market Authority to import up to one gigawatt of solar photovoltaic energy from Indonesia to Singapore.
Earlier this week, Singapore-headquartered bio-based resources and energy group RGE and TotalEnergies announced that Singa Renewables would develop a utility-scale solar and battery project in Indonesia's Riau Province.
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Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Philippines defence chief says China needs to overcome 'deficit of trust'
SINGAPORE, May 31 (Reuters) - China has a "deficit of trust and credibility" it needs to overcome in order to mend its fraught defence ties with the Philippines, though any breakthrough in the near term remains unlikely, Manila's top defence official said on Saturday. Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro told Reuters that the threat of China's growing military prowess was "undeniable", echoing comments from Pete Hegseth, the counterpart from his U.S. treaty ally. "China's activities are getting more expansive and more aggressive. Their demonstrations of force are getting more frequent, and in the West Philippine Sea, we are getting used to their activities, but they have expanded the areas where they are doing it," he said, referring to the South China Sea. In a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, Teodoro spoke of the frustration of dealing with Chinese military counterparts who rarely stray from talking points and propaganda and represent an institution that exists to serve the Communist Party leadership. "I believe my foreign affairs colleagues are trying their level best to engage China. But on the defence side, what we have seen is that China has to overcome a deficit of trust and credibility," he said. "They continue their activities while gaslighting us that because the proximity and the defensive capabilities of the Philippines are not on par with Vietnam, so they choose us as an easy target." But Teodoro said both the United States and the Philippines wanted to peacefully deter China and he remained confident in Washington's security commitments after meeting Hegseth in Singapore. The Philippines has been among the most vocal critics of China's growing assertion of sovereignty in the South China Sea, in contrast to some of its neighbours like Malaysia, who have adopted a more cautious stance. "No country in ASEAN is subjected to the same amount of intense activities in all fronts by China, but the Philippines," said Teodoro. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. China's foreign ministry earlier this month urged the Philippines to stop provocations in the South China Sea and officials have frequently accused the U.S. of sowing discord in the region. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing's claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.


Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Chinese invasion of Taiwan is ‘imminent,' warns US
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan 'could be imminent' Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has warned, as he claimed Beijing was 'credibly preparing' to use military force to upend the 'balance of power in the Indo-Pacific'. 'The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent,' Mr Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference attended by defence officials from around the world. Mr Hegseth warned the Chinese forces were building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and 'rehearsing for the real deal'. Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island, often described as preparations for a blockade or invasion. The US was 'reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China', Hegseth said, calling on US allies and partners in Asia to swiftly upgrade their defences in the face of mounting threats. The Pentagon chief made the remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore as Donald Trump's administration sparred with Beijing on trade, technology and influence over strategic areas of the globe. Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has launched a trade war with China, sought to kerb its access to key AI technologies and deepened security ties with allies such as the Philippines, which is engaged in escalating territorial disputes with Beijing. Mr Hegseth described China's conduct as a 'wake-up call', accusing Beijing of endangering lives with cyber attacks, harassing its neighbours, and 'illegally seizing and militarising lands' in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entire waterway, through which more than 60 per cent of global maritime trade passes, despite an international ruling that this territorial assertion has no merit. China has clashed repeatedly with the Philippines in the strategic waters in recent months, a situation that is set to dominate discussions at the Singapore defence forum, according to US officials. As Mr Hegseth spoke in Singapore, China's military announced that its navy and air force were carrying out routine 'combat readiness patrols' around the Scarborough Shoal, a chain of reefs and rocks Beijing disputes with the Philippines. 'China's assertiveness in the South China Sea has only increased in recent years,' Casey Mace, charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Singapore, said ahead of the meeting. 'I think that this type of forum is exactly the type of forum where we need to have an exchange on that.' Beijing has not sent any top defence officials to the summit, dispatching a delegation from the People's Liberation Army National Defence University instead. Mr Hegseth's hard-hitting address drew a critical reaction from Chinese analysts at the conference. Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said the speech was 'very unfriendly' and 'very confrontational'. He also accused Washington of double standards in demanding Beijing respect its neighbours while bullying its own – such as Canada and Greenland. Zhou Bo, a former senior colonel also from the centre at Tsinghua University, told AFP that training drills did not mean China would invade Taiwan, saying the government wanted 'peaceful reunification'. Mr Hegseth's comments came after Trump stoked new trade tensions with China, arguing that Beijing had 'violated' a deal to de-escalate tariffs as the world leaders appeared deadlocked in negotiations. The world's two biggest economies had agreed to temporarily lower the tariffs they had imposed on each other, pausing them for 90 days. Reassuring US allies on Saturday, Mr Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific was 'America's priority theatre', pledging to ensure ' China cannot dominate us – or our allies and partners '. He said the United States had stepped up co-operation with allies including the Philippines and Japan, and reiterated Trump's vow that 'China will not invade [Taiwan] on his watch'. The Pentagon Chief called on US partners in the region to ramp up spending on their militaries and 'quickly upgrade their own defences'. 'Asian allies should look to countries in Europe for a newfound example,' Mr Hegseth said, citing pledges by Nato members to move toward Trump's spending target of five per cent of GDP. 'Deterrence doesn't come on the cheap.' Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief who was also in Singapore, said the Trump administration's 'tough love' had helped push the continent to beef up its defences. 'It's love nonetheless, so it's better than no love,' Ms Kallas quipped when asked about Mr Hegseth's speech.


The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Going to increase prices on everybody': US energy department workers sound alarm over cuts
Workers at the US Department of Energy say cuts and deregulations are undermining the ability for the department to function and will result in significant energy cost hikes for consumers. Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' will raise energy costs for American households by as much as 7% in 2035 due to the repeal of energy tax credits and could put significant investment and energy innovation at risk, according to a report by the Rhodium Group. The non-partisan think tank Energy Innovation calculated the average US household will see its utility bills rise by over $230 by 2035 as a result of cuts to renewable energy investments. The rises are being driven in part by cuts to the agency. Trump has proposed cutting the department's budget by $19.3bn. More than 3,500 employees at the Department of Energy have reportedly taken delayed resignation buyout offers, though the Department of Energy declined to provide final numbers or an estimate on the departures. Some 43% of its workforce of nearly 16,000 employees was deemed 'non-essential', not including 555 probationary employees that were fired earlier this year. The US Department of Energy announced on 12 May plans to eliminate 47 regulations, comprising mostly of energy efficiency standards for appliances, claiming the cuts would save nearly $11bn, but did not provide any analysis or data for how it came to that savings estimate. The Department of Energy estimated in December 2024 that stronger energy efficiency appliance standards would save consumers about $1trn over the next three decades. An analysis by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project found the energy efficiency cuts would add $54bn in utility energy costs. 'The impact of a lot of what I was working on in the energy efficiency and electrification space is aimed at saving folks money. The business case around energy efficiency has been made for the past 30 years. Reducing the cost of energy, any of those fixed costs for folks, can really be life changing, freeing up their budget for other necessities,' said a US Department of Energy employee who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation as they have accepted a resignation buyout offer. 'Changing that has so many effects down the line,' they added. 'We already know things are getting more expensive. Budgets are getting tighter for many households in the state, and also territories and tribes. The work that I did was not only with states, but also with us, territories and tribes as well, and a lot of these communities, every dollar matters, and that's not unique to red or blue areas or anything like that.' Another employee at the US Department of Energy said morale at the department sank after attacks on civil servants by the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) and the chaos and uncertainty of the firings of probationary employees, contractors, and employees resigning, leaving a drain on resources, talent and knowledge throughout the agency. 'Appointees came in with a clear agenda to dismantle programs and shrink staff,' they said. 'It is very clear they don't care about the work or the workforce. Many were looking to score points with Doge and made quick cuts without concerns for long-term damage, such as the chaos and lost knowledge caused by the delayed resignation program.' A former senior Department of Energy official who requested to remain anonymous explained the totality of the cuts to personnel, grants, regulations, and budget for the department are 'going to increase prices on everybody'. 'As much as the election was on affordability, there's a reason that Trump is doing incredibly poorly on affordability and inflation. I think what's happening at the Department of Energy is just such a great example of a whole variety of efforts that near-term, medium-term and longer-term are going to raise prices on consumers, on companies, and make us less competitive internationally,' they said. 'The efficiency regulations end up saving consumers an awful lot of money, certainly as a percentage of their budget. I don't think there is any truth whatsoever, if you talk to anyone who's ever done analysis and rigor on this, that somehow not doing these regulations is actually saving money. It's the exact opposite if you think of the whole system.' They also criticized the fact that many of these actions will result in lawsuits and legal changes, and the negative impacts of research and development cuts to renewable energy. They cited the demand for energy to power emerging AI and data centers and energy consumption is expected to rise significantly and wind, solar, and battery energy storage are relatively quick and cheap to construct. About 96% of added US energy capacity to the grid in 2024 was from carbon-free sources. 'If you stop any research for next generation solar or battery technology, or wind or geothermal or other pieces, what you're effectively doing is compromising a huge range of technology that has the potential to reduce costs, and of course, has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But even if you don't care about that, these are the technologies that could reduce costs for consumers,' they added. 'The chaos with the tariffs, with the regulations, with the not fully thought through and analyzed nature of this is just causing a lot of confusion, a lot of incoherence, a lot of inconsistency and uncertainty. And that's just not good for businesses, let alone consumers.' A spokesperson for the US Department of Energy refuted claims of costs due to eliminating regulations. 'President Trump and Secretary Wright pledged to restore commonsense to our regulatory policies and lower costs for American consumers – that is exactly what these deregulatory actions do. To argue consumers benefit from being forced to purchase more-expensive, time-intensive products that are often less energy efficient because they don't do the job right the first time is total nonsense,' they said in an email. 'DOE's approach recognizes that consumer choice and market-driven innovation, not bureaucratic mandates, lead to better-performing and more affordable consumer products. DOE's deregulatory actions empower consumers to choose products that meet their needs and budgets, while also supporting American manufacturers.'