Jakarta. Indonesia is currently seeking the Singaporean government’s green light before it can start exporting solar power to the city-state, according to a senior government official.

Rachmat Kaimuddin, an aide to senior minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said Thursday that the sunny Indonesia had been in talks with Singapore to help power the neighboring country. 

Several Indonesian companies had already secured conditional approvals from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA). For reference, the EMA is a statutory board under Singapore’s Trade Ministry that is in charge of ensuring that the country has a resilient and secure energy supply. Jakarta is now keeping its fingers crossed that it can secure a conditional license when it hosts the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum (ISF) next week, which it claims to be the second-largest climate action conference after the UN’s COP29 in Azerbaijan.

“That’s what we are hoping for. I plan to give the top brass of EMA a call later [after this presser]. There are already some companies that have obtained conditional approval. So the next step is to secure a conditional license from the Singaporean government,” Rachmat told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.

Rachmat claimed that more companies -- aside from the aforementioned approved ones -- are seeking to take part in the electricity export megaproject. “There are other [Indonesian] companies that are trying to get their hands on conditional approvals,” he said, without revealing their names.

He added: “We plan to send the first electrons [to Singapore] in early 2028 or end of 2027. The power [developers] are still preparing the cable lines and [decide on the] plants first, among others. But what we are hoping for is that this project uses Indonesia-made solar modules, panels, and batteries.”

Rachmat said that the cross-border electricity trading with Singapore could be worth billions of dollars. The use of domestically produced solar modules and batteries could also be a boon to the country’s manufacturing industry and supply chain.

Last year, the EMA granted conditional approvals to five companies for the cross-border electricity trading project -- each getting different levels of import capacities. They were Pacific Medco Solar (0.6 gigawatts), Adaro Solar International (0.4 gigawatts), EDP Renewables APAC (0.4 gigawatts), Vanda RE (0.3 gigawatts), and Keppel Energy (0.3 gigawatts). According to Rachmat a few months ago, they will team up with the state utility firm PLN for the cross-border transmission infrastructure needs.

The EMA issues conditional approvals after it preliminary assesses that the electricity import projects are technically and commercially viable. Conditional approvals are also crucial for companies to get the necessary regulatory approvals and licenses for their projects. 

Singapore is seeking to import 4 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity by 2035. Half of that electricity is set to come from Indonesia.