Singapore and Indonesia bet on selling clean power across the border

Singapore wants to buy clean electricity from Indonesia, and the deal could grow into something much bigger than two neighbours trading power. The South China Morning Post reports that during a recent leaders' retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia's state investment fund Danantara signed deals with Keppel Electric and Sembcorp Industries to look at importing low-carbon electricity.

Here is the plain version of the plan. Singapore is small and short of land, so it struggles to build enough solar or wind power at home to meet its climate goals. Indonesia has plenty of space, sun, and other renewable sources, but needs money and buyers to build that industry. So Singapore would pay for green power, and Indonesia would build the solar farms and cables to send it, growing its own "green economy," meaning industries based on clean energy, along the way. Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Indonesia has "tremendous potential in renewable energy" and that his country wants to help unlock it.

Analysts say the real prize is bigger. If this cross-border link works, it could become a working example for the long-delayed ASEAN Power Grid, a plan for Southeast Asian countries to connect their electricity networks and share power. That idea has been discussed for years but has struggled to move from paper to reality. A real Singapore-Indonesia line could show the rest of the region it can be done.

Why it matters

If you live in Indonesia, this could mean new jobs and investment in solar and wind projects, especially outside the big cities where land is easier to find. It also gives Indonesia a fresh export that does not depend on digging up coal or nickel. Watch whether these study deals turn into signed contracts and real cables, because talk of clean-energy cooperation has often stalled before the first watt crossed a border.