Singapore is set to address emerging security challenges in the way of energy, said the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the nation’s budget announcement last Friday.

This has led to the set-up of a Future Energy Fund, with an initial injection of $5 billion – this fund will allow for a transition from natural gas to cleaner fuels.

“There is considerable uncertainty as to how these energy pathways will work out,” said Wong. “What is clear is that significant effort and costs will be needed to transit from a system powered almost entirely by natural gas to one powered largely by clean energy. We say this is an ‘energy transition’… But the scale of this so-called transition is massive, and we will need to get it done over the next two decades or so, which is not a lot of time.

For example, to import low-carbon electricity, we will need to invest in submarine cables and upgrade our existing power grid. Or if we decide to scale up the use of hydrogen, we will need to put in place new infrastructure for generation, storage, and delivery. All of these investments will be costly. They cannot be done by the private sector alone, and will likely need some catalytic funding from the Government.

[The fund] will give us the confidence to invest in good time, put us in a better position to move quickly on critical infrastructure, and enhance our security in clean energy.”

Emerging energy pathways

Wong stated that natural gas – considered to be the cleanest of all fossil fuels – will likely remain critical for Singapore’s energy needs “in the near-to-medium term”, but the country’s drive toward net zero will require a transition away from this fuel source. However, Singapore is limited by its lack of options, stressed Wong.

“One way is to import low-carbon electricity, and we are making progress on that front.” Wong shared. “But there is a limit to importing electricity without compromising security, so we will need other options to decarbonize the rest of our energy supply.”

These options include the exploration of other energy sources such as geothermal power. “After all, we do have a hot spring in Sembawang!” Wong joked. “But we will need very deep drilling to assess the potential [of geothermal power], and it really remains to be seen if this will be viable.”

Wong also shared that Singapore has not ruled out nuclear power as a potential source of clean energy in the future, citing rapid advancements in current nuclear technologies with “smaller, safer, and more fuel-efficient designs”.

“We will build up our capabilities, so that we can critically assess the evolving technologies in this space and decide on the feasibility of nuclear deployment one day in the future.” He said.