Sunseap and Tenaga Nasional to form partnership for import of clean energy from Malaysia to Singapore
Mar 2, 2021
Sunseap Group, Singapore’s leading solar energy provider and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia’s largest electricity utility, said today that they have formed a joint venture to participate in a trial by Singapore to import electricity from Malaysia.
The tender, yet to be called, will see Singapore importing 100 MegaWatt (MWac) of electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources. If successful, Sunseap will invest in a solar farm in Malaysia and tap other forms of clean energy, such as hydroelectricity, from TNB’s existing plants to ensure a reliable and stable supply of power into the Republic.
In October 2020, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) announced the trial as part of Singapore’s strategy to diversify the country’s energy supply by tapping regional power grids for cleaner energy resources. The trial aims to assess and refine the technical and regulatory frameworks for importing electricity into Singapore. This would help to facilitate larger-scale imports from the region in future.
The electricity to be imported by the JV could account for about 1.5% of Singapore’s peak electricity demand, and could begin as early as end-2021 via the existing electricity interconnector between Singapore and Malaysia.
Mr Frank Phuan, Co-Founder and CEO of Sunseap, said: “We are pleased to partner Tenaga Nasional, a well-established power grid operator and Malaysia’s leading utility company, to contribute to Singapore’s long-term efforts to power our future through clean and green energy sources.
“This partnership will expand our capabilities as a leading sustainable energy provider in the region and advance our mission of bringing affordable, reliable and clean energy to our customers in Singapore, especially in the data centre space.”
"We hope this demonstrates to our partners and potential partners Sunseap's strong end-to-end project development and management competencies and our ability to complete a project within a tight deadline. The Vietnamese government has been incredibly supportive of clean energy and we look forward to more opportunities to power the country's economic growth in a sustainable manner."
Datuk Ir. Baharin Din, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, said: “Following our successful investments in the UK RE businesses through Vortex Solar and Tenaga Wind Ventures, the partnership with Sunseap is an important piece to continue our ongoing international RE expansion strategy. This partnership provides a solid regional platform with the capabilities, capacity and network to grow our RE and utility businesses in South East Asia.”
Tenaga Nasional Berhad is a leading Malaysian utility company in Asia with an international presence in United Kingdom, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and Indonesia. Within the renewable energy space, TNB has a total portfolio of 2,732.3MW in Malaysia (including 2,536.1MW of large hydro) and 666MW across the UK, Turkey and India comprising mainly solar, wind and hydro energy generation assets.
Sunseap is one of the largest and most established players in the solar energy industry in the region, with a pipeline of projects in Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Cambodia. In Malaysia, it has previously signed a joint venture with Cenergi SEA Sdn Bhd to provide residential customers with solar energy through rooftop solar leasing agreements.
About Sunseap Group
Sunseap Group is a leading solar energy system developer, owner and operator in Singapore, with over 400 MegaWatt-peak (MWp) of solar energy projects contracted, of which more than 168 MWp have been completed on more than 1,500 buildings in Singapore including public housing estates, as well as commercial and industrial buildings. It operates through five key units: Sunseap Leasing, Sunseap International, Sunseap Energy, Sunseap Engineering and Sunseap Solutions.
Sunseap Leasing is the first and largest solar leasing company in Singapore. Sunseap International targets markets in the Southeast Asian and Pacific regions. These include solar farm in Vietnam with more than 170 MWp, and solar projects in Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. Sunseap Energy provides renewable energy solutions utilising off-site arrangements by drawing on solar systems within the Group’s portfolio of distributed generation assets. Sunseap Engineering provides engineering, procurement and construction as well as operation and maintenance services for PV projects. Sunseap Solutions focuses on energy efficiency solutions by providing services such as energy audits, lighting retrofitting and green roof systems.
About Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Tenaga Nasional Berhad is a leading Malaysian utility company in Asia with an international presence in United Kingdom, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and Indonesia. It aspires to be a leading provider of sustainable energy solutions in Malaysia and internationally. Under the Group’s sustainability commitment, TNB targets its RE generation capacity at 8.3 GW by 2025. The group has pledged to stop investing in greenfield coal plants and aims to cap revenue from coal generation plants at 25%.
Within the renewable energy space, TNB has a total portfolio of 2,732.3MW in Malaysia (including 2,536.1MW of large hydro) and 666MW across the UK, Turkey and India comprising mainly solar, wind and hydro energy generation assets.
TNB’s core activities are in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. In addition to being the nation’s primary electricity generation enterprise, TNB also transmits and distributes all the electricity in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan. As at 30 September 2020, TNB supplies electricity to approximately 10 million customers.
TNB, through its subsidiaries, is also involved in the manufacturing of transformers, high voltage switchgears and cables; the provider of professional consultancy services, construction and operating and maintenance of district cooling facilities, generation equipment, repair and maintenance, fuel supply services; services related to renewable energy, energy efficiency and power quality; higher education and skill training and undertakes research and development.
Media Contacts
Sunseap Group Pte Ltd
Rob Khoo
Email: corpcomms@sunseap.com
Catherine Ong Associates
Catherine Ong
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Email: cath@catherineong.com