JAKARTA – The energy company owned by conglomerate Sukanto Tanoto in Singapore, Royal Golden Eagle, has formed a partnership with France’s TotalEnergies.

The two firms will establish a joint venture named Singa Renewables to develop an underwater electricity distribution network to transmit power from solar panels in Indonesia.

This electricity will be supplied to Singapore Energy Interconnections (SGEI), the company appointed by the Singapore government to import clean energy.

SGEI has signed a memorandum of understanding with Singa Renewables regarding the partnership, though the value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Earlier, Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) granted Singa Renewables a conditional licence to import 1 gigawatt (GW) of low-carbon power from Indonesia.

SGEI’s CEO, Ong Teng Koon, said Singapore needs to import low-carbon electricity to support its net-zero emissions target by 2050, noting that the city-state’s power plants currently account for 40% of total carbon emissions.

“This electricity import will play an important role in decarbonising the power sector,” Ong told the Strait Times recently.

Singapore began initiating electricity imports from neighbouring countries such as Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia in 2022. More recently, it signed an agreement with Vietnam to import low-emission electricity. (KR/ZH)