Tuas Power to explore importing up to 500 MW a year of hydropower from Laos - The Business Times

[SINGAPORE] Singapore could up its long-term hydropower imports from Laos, under a deal involving Singapore generation company Tuas Power, Laos state operator Electricite du Laos (EDL) and the Phongsupthavy Group (PSTG), a private developer of renewable power generation projects.

The proposed long-term arrangement would see Tuas Power import 100 megawatts (MW) of Laotian hydropower in the first year of the contract. The amount would rise to 300 MW in the second year, and 500 MW annually thereafter, for a term of five to 15 years.

Tuas Power – a unit of the Chinese state-owned China Huaneng Group – signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday (Oct 30) with EDL and PSTG to explore such a power supply arrangement. The MOU was inked on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week.

Tuas Power chief operating officer Michael Wong said that the potential collaboration with EDL and PSTG “supports our long-term road map for customers’ decarbonisation and sustainable regional energy transition to a net-zero carbon future”.

The hydropower supplied by EDL and PSTG could be paired with Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) – giving customers the option to buy power in a bundle with the RECs, which are market-based instruments used to offset electricity consumption from fossil fuels.

“We look forward to working with Tuas Power... to explore how our hydropower portfolio can serve Singapore’s growing demand for clean energy,” said PSTG chairman Phongsavath Senaphuan. “We recognise that hydropower is a seasonal resource, and we will work towards a supply profile that is transparent and deliverable, should the arrangement proceed.”

The partnership could enable hydropower from Laos “to contribute to regional clean-energy integration under the Asean Power Grid vision”, said Wong from Tuas Power, referring to the ongoing plan to connect individual South-east Asian states’ national electricity networks.

Noting that “regional power trade in Asean has made good progress in recent years”, EDL managing director Souksavart Sosouphanh said: “We look forward to working together to examine how the Lao (People’s Democratic Republic’s) hydropower resources can contribute to the region’s energy needs.”

Singapore’s peak electricity demand now stands at around 8.6 gigawatts (GW) or 8,600 MW, and could grow to 13 GW by 2031, indicated the country’s Energy Market Authority.

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