Singapore’s Vena Energy is aiming to start construction for its 2 GW solar and battery project in Indonesia’s Riau Islands by 2026, and is plans to supply electricity to Singapore before 2030.
Vena Energy’s CEO, Nitin Apte, said that this project reflects the growing ambition and scale of green energy investments in the region.
The renewables project developer has a large and growing pipeline of investments, covering onshore wind and solar, offshore wind, and battery storage. It is also looking to build up green hydrogen production.
He said the Riau Islands project will cover between 2,000ha and 2,200ha, involve a subsea cable to Singapore, and will be completed in phases by 2032. The battery storage system is expected to store over 8 GWh of energy.
The company signed an agreement with Shell Eastern Trading in August, in which Shell would explore the import of some of the renewable energy generated by the Riau project.
According to the CEO, Vena Energy plans to export up to 2.5 TWh of electricity annually to Singapore, and that Shell is in discussions with the Energy Market Authority (EMA) regarding import license.
The amount represents just under 5% of Singapore’s total electricity consumption of 53.5 TWh in 2021, according to EMA figures.
Singapore plans to import up to 4GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, and the EMA is considering projects based on submissions under its request for proposal exercise that closes in the end of this year.
Vena Energy was founded in 2012. Ii has 80 projects with a total operational capacity of 2.7GW in seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The total portfolio capacity of the company is up to 43GW.
The CEO also mentioned that the green energy investments in the region are expanding due to climate change and the economy conditions, citing the sharp drop in the cost of renewable energy.
