Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what specific upgrades are planned for the national grid and energy infrastructure to accommodate new energy sources like small modular reactors and ammonia; (b) what is the projected timeline for implementing these upgrades; and (c) how is the Government ensuring that infrastructure and grid readiness align with the commercial availability of these technologies.
The Second Minister for Trade and Industry (Dr Tan See Leng) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker, the Singapore Power (SP) Group is Singapore’s national grid operator. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) works closely with the SP Group to plan for and implement the necessary upgrades and expansion of our grid infrastructure. This helps to ensure a stable and a reliable power system in Singapore, even as we complement our natural gas power plants with new energy sources, such as solar panels, low-carbon electricity imports from the region, and other sources that are still currently under study.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are still nascent. As we have previously communicated in this House, SMRs have yet to be fully commercialised. We are, however, closely monitoring developments in SMR technology to assess if and when they can be and may be safe enough and feasible for Singapore.
As for ammonia, we are developing an Ammonia Pathfinder project for pilot-scale power generation and marine bunkering. For power generation, the plan is to deploy a 55- to 65-megawatt (MW) ammonia power plant by 2028. The pilot will help us evaluate the feasibility of scaling up ammonia power generation in Singapore. If ammonia power generation becomes feasible, we will naturally consider building the infrastructure required to support this new pathway.
Mr Speaker: Mr Chua.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Just two quick supplementary questions for the Minister. The first is, I note that there will be a Future Energy Fund which will be set up by the year-end. I just wanted to ask if there is a specific amount that will be ear-marked for these two new technologies for the infrastructure and grid upgrades that will be necessary, should we decide to go ahead with implementing this on a larger scale.
Second, I note the Minister’s response that the Government is still monitoring SMR technology. At the same time, I also saw a recent piece of news that the EMA Chief Executive shared that SMR technology is actually a possible solution to power Singapore’s data centres. So, on that note, I just wanted to ask if there is a certain timeline on this. Given that the last time we did a feasibility study was about 10 years ago, are there any plans to then conduct a proper study to see whether it is possible to power, not just the data centre industry, but that of our energy requirements?
Dr Tan See Leng: I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. For the Future Energy Fund, I have shared earlier on, I believe it was at the Budget or Committee of Supply debate this year, that in some of the infrastructural investments, particularly pertaining to interconnectors, that is what we envisage part of the Future Energy Fund will be used for.
It would be premature at this particular point in time to talk about what amounts have been ear-marked. But with time, we will come back and lay out what are the amounts that we have been setting aside to develop and to invest in, to seed and to catalyse some of the developments. So, the first point is, perhaps for the Member’s own understanding, the first focus will be on the interconnectors and this is relating to the renewable energy imports.
For the SMRs today, while there have been a lot of discussions, there has been also a lot of publicity around the potential for SMRs. We have been looking globally. The number of sites where one SMR has been deployed in a commercially and economically feasible segment, has yet to be demonstrated.
However, that being said, it still holds quite a fair bit of promise because the safety buffer zones are significantly less than during the time when we did the first feasibility study. I think that was back in around 2012, where the safety buffer zones for the conventional large-sized nuclear reactors did not make it possible or feasible for us to be considering investing in such type of technology within our island state.
However, today, given the nascency of some of these projects, we have not decided whether we will move on to another feasibility study. We are waiting for data to come out. We have just entered into an agreement, the 123 Agreement with the United States. Our main focus is on understanding the safety, the reliability and the technical aspects of SMR type of technology.
I think in the context of thinking forward, what are some possible pathways we can use – because we have committed to a net zero target by 2050, so what are some of the alternative pathways we can do for us to continue to fulfil our zero emission target and at the same time accommodate high-growth industries, whether it is in semiconductors or even wafer fabs or even data centres?
We will explore all possible pathways in order for us to enable our policy space to be able to accommodate some of these set-ups.
So, SMR is one. I have also shared in this House that we are also looking at geothermal exploration. As I have earlier on shared, we are considering using ammonia as a pathfinder. We are also looking at the possibility of carbon capture and storage. We are also working with like-minded countries for implementation agreements according to Article 6 of the Paris Accords on carbon credits as well.
So, it is one of multiple pathways that EMA and the Energy Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry have embarked on to explore every possible means we can to decarbonise and within our confines of policy space, in terms of affordability and sustainability.
Ministry of Trade and Industry
13 November 2024
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Office of the Leader of the Opposition 