2. Speeches
Speech by 2M Tan at Signing Ceremony of the Power Purchase and Export Agreement between Keppel Energy Pte. Ltd. and Royal Group Power Co. Ltd
16 March 2023
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Your Excellency Suy Sem, Minister of Mines and Energy of Cambodia,
Your Excellency Keo Rottanak, Minister attached to the Prime Minister, and Managing Director of the Électricité du Cambodge,
Your Excellency Sok Khoeun, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Republic of Singapore,
Neak Oknha Kith Meng, Chairman and CEO, Royal Group,
Mr Loh Chin Hua, Chief Executive Officer, Keppel Corporation,
Ms Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel Infrastructure,
Preamble
1. First, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the Cambodia delegation in Singapore. My appreciation goes to Minister Suy Sem and Minister Keo Rottanak, for making time to join us in Singapore for this important occasion. This is a testimony to the close ties between Cambodia and Singapore.
2. Singapore and Cambodia share close relations and are like-minded countries. We share an interest in shifting to cleaner sources of energy and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
MOU on Energy Cooperation
3. One of the cooperation areas under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Energy Cooperation signed on 25 October last year is to develop cross-border electricity trading projects between Cambodia and Singapore.
a. Within just six months of the signing of our MOU on Energy Cooperation, we have made significant progress in working with each other to facilitate the cross-border electricity trading project initiated by Keppel Energy Private Limited and Royal Group Power Company Limited.
Significance of Power Purchase and Export Agreement
4. I am honoured to be co-witnessing the signing of the Power Purchase and Export Agreement, or PPEA, between the two companies for Cambodia to supply electricity to Singapore.
5. This PPEA is a significant milestone, creating many “firsts” to guide the way for cross-border electricity trading in our region, similar to how Europe, the UK, and Nordic countries, have done for decades:
a. The PPEA provides for 1 Gigawatt of electricity to be traded across borders. This will be Singapore’s largest cross-border electricity contract.
b. The subsea high voltage transmission cables which serve this project will be the longest cross-border subsea interconnector in South-East Asia, at more than 1,000 kilometers long. It will be longer than the Viking Link Interconnector Project between the Denmark and the UK, which is thus far the longest subsea cable being built and expected to be completed at end 2023.
6. This signing of the PPEA and partnership between Keppel and Royal Group demonstrates the strong commercial interest and viability of renewable energy co-development projects for cross-border electricity trade.
Government Support for Cross-border Electricity Trading
7. I am pleased to note the Cambodian Government’s strong support for the collaboration between Keppel and Royal Group for cross border electricity trade between Cambodia and Singapore.
8. Singapore also supports this project. Keppel Energy has submitted its Final Proposal to the Energy Market Authority of Singapore under its Request for Proposal for large-scale electricity imports. Keppel’s proposal aims to supply 1GW of low carbon electricity from hydro and solar resources from Cambodia.
9. I am pleased to announce that the Energy Market Authority of Singapore will be issuing a Conditional Approval to Keppel Energy Private Limited for its electricity imports project soon. The Conditional Approval recognises that the project has received support from the Cambodian Government and that EMA has preliminary assessed the project to be technically and commercially viable.
10. With the Conditional Approval, the importer will be able to embark on further studies that are needed, secure all relevant regulatory approvals from the source and transit countries, and enter into necessary contracts to reach a Final Investment Decision and financial close.
Continued Efforts to Facilitate Project
11. Today’s PPEA signing is just the first step of a multi-year journey for Cambodia and Singapore.
12. Both companies, as well as the Singapore and Cambodian Governments, will need to work closely together for the project to be completed and cross-border electricity trade to take place.
13. Given our strong partnership thus far, I am confident that our officials will work closely together to facilitate the project.
Realising the ASEAN Power Grid Vision
14. The cross-border trading project between Cambodia and Singapore also builds on the successful commencement of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project which commenced in June last year.
15. This opens up opportunities for further interconnections to Southeast Asian countries and contributes to the realisation of the ASEAN Power Grid vision. Energy collaborations across borders can help to realise our region’s potential for collective decarbonisation by unlocking renewable energy potential, and economic growth by stimulating clean energy investment flows and generating new green jobs.
16. Enhanced interconnectivity also provides both sides with a higher level of assurance for energy security and resilience.
Closing
17. I look forward to working closely with Cambodia to advance renewable energy deployment in Cambodia and the facilitation of cross-border trading projects between Singapore and Cambodia.
18. I also look forward to working with Cambodia to partner other regional partners, as well as like-minded partners like the US and Australia, to develop regional power grids and grid interconnections for cross-border electricity trade.
19. Thank you.