City-state’s energy dilemma a small-nation warning

The country’s desire to shift to renewable sources of energy is running up against its geographic limitations. It hasn’t got enough space for large solar installations, there are no major rivers for hydro and what little breeze the tropical city-state gets isn’t sufficient to push a wind turbine.

That’s forced the financial and transport hub to rely on imports in its plans to transition away from fossil fuels. It’s a common strategy for small places but it’s dependent on nearby countries being willing to export carbon-free power.

For Singapore, its plan to bring in enough clean energy from overseas to meet 30% of its needs by 2035 has already hit a snag. Neighbouring Malaysia banned renewable electricity sales late last year to prioritise its own efforts to decarbonise, underscoring the risks ahead for import-reliant nations.

“Every country around the world is seeing increased demand for renewables,” said Tim Rockell, the managing director of Energy Strat Asia who has also advised government agencies in the region on energy policy. “And exporting it doesn’t always look politically expedient.”In a world where countries and companies will be increasingly using their green credentials as a competitive tool, being a laggard could put places like Singapore at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting both capital and talent.

Small-scale nuclear is one of the few local low-carbon power options available to Singapore, although there are challenges both with the technology and the disposal of atomic waste.

The country is “keeping its options open” on nuclear energy in the longer term, depending on how the technology advances, said Singapore’s Energy Market Authority.

Even with imports, Singapore will still fall short on decarbonising electricity generation and may have to pursue nuclear to move away from liquefied natural gas, said Vijay Sirse, chief executive officer of Destiny Energy Pte Ltd, a clean-power consultant in the city-state. — Bloomberg