Sembcorp bags conditional approval for RE imports from Sarawak

The project will commence operations around 2035.

Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp), and Sarawak Energy Berhad have secured conditional approval to import an estimated 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy from Sarawak to Singapore.

In a statement, Sembcorp said the Energy Market Authority of Singapore approved the importation of clean power to the city-state. The project is expected to commence operations around 2035.

The electricity to be imported will be generated predominantly from hydropower sources in Sarawak. SP PowerInterconnect will support the project as a technical partner.

The electricity will be transmitted to Singapore through subsea cables spanning over 700 kilometres. This project is Singapore’s first large-scale 24/7 power import initiative, capable of delivering renewable baseload energy to the country.

Sembcorp said the consortium has signed a preferred supplier agreement with Prysmian, a global leader in high-voltage submarine and underground cable systems, to optimise the design, installation methodology and protection requirements for a subsea interconnector cable for this project.

“Together with an earlier Conditional Approval to bring in 1.2 GW of renewable electricity from Vietnam, this brings us closer to achieving 2.2 GW of imports, contributing to Singapore’s 6 GW target by 2035 and advancing the development of a regional power grid,” said Wong Kim Yin, Group CEO, Sembcorp Industries

The award of the conditional approval by EMA is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Sembcorp for the financial year ending 31 December 2025.