Jakarta. A senior government official said Tuesday that Indonesia would likely start exporting solar power to Singapore by 2028.

Close neighbor Singapore wants to import 4 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon power by 2035 in hopes to cut down its emissions. Half of that power would come from Indonesia. Rachmat Kaimuddin, a deputy at the Coordinating Ministry for Investment Affairs, gave some updates to this export plan.

“We have a commitment to export green electricity to Singapore. Initially, we exported coal and natural gas, but now we can export green energy. Hopefully, this [plan] can materialize by 2027 or 2028,” Rachmat told a conference in Jakarta.

Rachmat claimed that the clean power exports would not only generate job opportunities but could bring huge investment into Indonesia. “Because we require the exported electricity to be produced by Indonesia-made solar panels and battery storage systems. This will attract multi, tens of billions of dollars investments.”

Both governments already inked a memorandum of understanding on power interconnection last September. 

According to media reports, Rachmat not long ago revealed that five companies sought to supply the export-bound electricity. Some of the names include Adaro Energy and Medco Energi Internasional, among others. They would partner with the state-run utility firm PLN for the infrastructure needs.

The green power deal also became a subject matter when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hosted a state visit from Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in April. Shortly after the bilateral talks, Jokowi told the press at the time that Indonesia would continue to push for the plan. Likewise, the city-state is also looking forward to getting green power from sunny Indonesia.

“We look forward to Indonesia driving the green economy in our region. Bilaterally, we are making good progress in facilitating cross-border electricity trading,” Lee said in his joint press statement.

The state visit took place just a few weeks before Lee was succeeded by the current prime minister Lawrence Wong. Jokowi is also about to retire this October. In other words, by the time Indonesia begins transmitting green electricity to Singapore, Prabowo will already be in power. Lee and Jokowi also brought their respective successors during their meeting.
 

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