Singapore’s clean energy dilemma is a warning for small nations

Singapore's shift towards green energy is being hampered by its lack of space to deploy renewable energy tech, a geographic quandary other small or densely populated nations are facing too. — AFP

Singapore’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 Southeast Asian 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 – Hong Kong, Monaco and Bahrain are in a similar position – but it’s dependent on nearby countries being willing to export carbon-free power.