Latest news with #LaoPDR-Thailand-Malaysia-SingaporePowerIntegrationProject
New Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
DPM Fadillah calls for Asean members to strengthen energy cooperation
KUALA LUMPUR: Asean member states must strengthen regional energy cooperation as part of a shared prosperity strategy, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Fadillah, who is also energy transition and water transformation Minister, said cross-border partnerships in the energy sector are already seen through collaborations between Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. "For instance, Laos supplies energy to Singapore, but it must pass through Thailand and Malaysia, so Laos pays a wheeling fee for transmitting through our power grid. "However, sometimes during winter, water sources freeze and the supply is disrupted. "At that point, Laos may draw power from Thailand and Malaysia to continue supplying Singapore. "This shows how Asean member states support and help one another," he told reporters after the Luncheon Power Talk session - Shared Prosperity: The New Imperative for Asean's Economic Growth held in conjunction with the Asean Women Economic Summit (AWES) 2025 here today. Singapore currently imports up to 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from Laos through a cross-border initiative called the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP). This will double to a maximum of 200MW of renewable hydropower, with supply from Malaysia as well. Fadillah said Malaysia remains committed to implementing the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and is actively working towards realising the Asean Power Grid to establish a connected and sustainable energy ecosystem. Citing the recent gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights, Fadillah said Malaysia had entered into discussions with Thailand to supply gas to the country's northern region, following the shutdown of the affected pipeline. "This is how we help one another. This is what we call shared prosperity. "Only through sharing and mutual support can Asean become stronger and more competitive," he said. Fadillah said that one of the country's key challenges is ensuring a stable energy supply or baseload, which cannot be guaranteed by weather-dependent sources such as solar and wind. As such, Malaysia currently relies on coal, gas and diesel. However, he added, the world is now moving towards clean energy sources such as hydrogen, nuclear, hydropower, and biogas produced by palm oil waste and industrial by-products. Meanwhile, Fadillah said Malaysia remains committed to empowering women in all aspects of national development, including entrepreneurship, employment and capacity building, in line with the shared prosperity approach. He said this commitment is evident through efforts to promote women's empowerment, particularly in education policy, with women now dominating higher education institutions and increasingly excelling in technical and professional fields. Fadillah added that the shared prosperity agenda extends to all segments of society, including women and those living in rural or marginalised areas. "We must create space and opportunities for women and groups that may have been left behind. "For example, those in remote rural areas... we need to close the gaps, including the digital divide, development disparities, and the gap between policy and implementation," he said. The session was moderated by Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd managing director and K3 Ventures founder Kuok Meng Xiong. UOB Malaysia is the main sponsor of AWES 2025, with Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd as the empowerment partner. The two-day inaugural AWES 2025, which began Saturday, was held in conjunction with the 46th Asean Summit, held under Malaysia's 2025 Chairmanship. It was attended by over 700 delegates representing government, business, and civil society across Asean. Themed "Empowering Women, Energising Asean: Pioneering Economic Integration for a Resilient Tomorrow", AWES highlighted the urgent need to position women at the forefront of Asean's economic transformation, particularly in addressing current challenges such as global tariff wars, digital transformation, and sustainable development. It also featured discussion and strategic brainstorming sessions, leadership lab and mentorship programme. – BERNAMA
Business Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Common standards needed to boost trade in renewable energy certificates
[SINGAPORE] The lack of standards around the cross-border trade of renewable energy certificates (RECs) is a key barrier preventing companies from signing offtake agreements with low-carbon electricity producers around South-east Asia, said Low Xin Wei, assistant chief executive for the markets and systems division at the Energy Market Authority. This means that there is a lack of additional revenue for these electricity importers, with which the Singapore government is looking to ink electricity import contracts to meet its net-zero targets. He said that major international standards, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, do not explicitly recognise the cross-border trade of RECs as a valid form of renewable energy procurement. The only exceptions are in the European Union and North America, where markets have been harmonised, said Low at a climate conference on Thursday (May 8). RECs are tradeable assets that are issued when 1 megawatt-hour of electricity is generated and delivered to the electricity grid from a renewable energy resource. Companies can purchase these certificates to reduce their Scope 2 emissions, which are emissions arising from their use of electricity generated from power stations. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up Given that Singapore has limited renewable energy resources, the amount of RECs that can be generated locally is constrained. There would only be a small pool of such certificates for companies to buy to offset their Scope 2 emissions. The Ministry of Trade and Industry previously announced that plans to establish a cross-border trading framework were under way. Low also said that there is a need to continue with concrete, small steps to make the Asean power grid a reality, starting with bilateral projects. 'Low-hanging fruits would be those which make use of existing interconnectors.' This includes the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project – a cross-border electricity trade that imports hydropower from Laos to Singapore – as well as the Energy Exchange Malaysia, a platform to facilitate cross-border electricity sales focused on renewable energy.
CNA
06-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Asia integral to solve climate crisis, should collaborate for a low-carbon future: Teo Chee Hean
SINGAPORE: Asia is integral to solving the climate crisis and should collaborate regionally for a low-carbon future, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Tuesday (May 6). Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, was speaking at the opening of Ecosperity Week 2025 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The annual sustainability event hosted by Temasek will run from May 5 to May 8, with its theme centred on Asia's role in the fight against climate change. Mr Teo delivered a keynote address where he noted deepening global uncertainty. "The international trading order has been upended. Supply chains are being redrawn. Global leadership is in flux, giving rise to a more arbitrary, protectionist, and dangerous world. "As a result, countries are reassessing their priorities, placing renewed emphasis on economic resilience, self-sufficiency and strategic autonomy," said Mr Teo, adding that it was not surprising for climate ambitions to take a back seat in such circumstances. Asia could see losses of up to 41 per cent of gross domestic product by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario, Mr Teo said, citing a report by the Asian Development Bank. Southeast Asia is set to see major disruptions to food supplies and other institutions due to extreme weather, he added. "Yet, it is also here, in Asia, that the fight against climate change could be won or lost. Our region is not just vulnerable to the crisis. We are integral to solving it." While Asia today accounts for more than half of global carbon emissions, its emissions per capita figure is still lower than those for the US and Europe, he said. "So, while Asia is expected to account for 90 per cent of the world's future growth in energy demand, this growth is a necessary consequence of improving people's lives, reducing poverty and ensuring that underserved communities get access to – for example – reliable electricity. "The way in which Asia sources for energy – whether from fossil fuels or renewables – and how we decarbonise, will shape not only our own trajectory, but that of the entire world." Mr Teo also spoke of three areas in which deeper collaboration in Southeast Asia could drive growth, resilience and climate action. One area was in regional grids, where uptake remains "limited" due to poor grid connectivity, Mr Teo said. He noted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) power grid, an interconnected regional grid to facilitate electricity trading, was making progress. Last year, electricity trade under the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project doubled from 100 megawatts to 200 megawatts, and Singapore progressed agreements to trade green electricity with neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. With continued investment and cross-border cooperation, an ASEAN grid could lift GDP by up to 4.6 per cent and create thousands of green jobs, Mr Teo said. Mr Teo noted that financing was also critical in the drive to decarbonise. "Unfortunately, Southeast Asia faces a significant financial gap for green investments. "Many governments in our region face budget pressures. The private sector has resources to deploy, but is understandably wary about the risks and returns of green investments," he said. He noted that Singapore launched the Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P), which aims to mobilise up to US$5 billion to finance green projects. FAST-P is a blended finance initiative launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2023 to bring together international partners in the efforts towards decarbonisation and climate resilience in Asia. At COP29, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced that Singapore had committed up to US$500 million in concessional funding to support FAST-P. The MAS will provide an update of the initiative on Wednesday, according to Mr Teo. Mr Teo also said that carbon credits could help drive decarbonisation and can act as a "powerful lever" to improve the "economics of coal plant phase out" in Asia. Singapore supports the effort through the MAS' Transition Credits Coalition, Mr Teo said. "For carbon markets to work, trust in the integrity of these markets is key. And this is why Singapore is committed to working closely with governments, businesses, standards bodies and international organisations to develop global standards and frameworks that uphold quality and integrity. "We want to see a high bar for the credits we support, and lead the way towards credible carbon markets." In closing, Mr Teo referred to how Singapore in February submitted its 2035 nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, indicating its commitment to reducing emissions. Singapore is among 20 nations out of nearly 200 to do so, and has committed to reducing emissions to between 45 million tonnes and 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035.
