Developer Vena Energy has signed a framework agreement with a key technology supplier for a large-scale cross-border clean energy hybrid project in Indonesia. Asia Pacific renewable energy developer and independent power producer Weineng Energy is planning a project that combines up to 2GW of solar photovoltaic power generation capacity with up to 8GWh of battery storage. The other three counterparties of this agreement are Chinese solar technology company Suntech, US based battery energy storage system integrator and manufacturer Powin Energy, and another Chinese company, battery manufacturer Rept Battero.

The production line will support Vena Energy's claim to be developing a hybrid large-scale project in Riau Province, Indonesia. In addition to signing agreements with three manufacturers and technology providers, Vena Energy has also signed a cooperation agreement with Shell's Singapore based subsidiary, Shell Eastern Trading, to supply electricity from the Riau Island factory to Singapore across borders.

Vena Energy, also headquartered in Singapore, has been in the Indonesian market since 2015, developing five onshore wind and solar photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 114MW.

Vene Energy CEO Nitin Apte stated that through this framework agreement, our goal is to make a significant contribution to the development of productive domestic supply chains in the renewable energy industry, which will support Indonesia's energy transformation plan and enhance the local economy by creating employment opportunities, promoting industrial expansion, and opening up export opportunities in this growing economic sector.

Partner targeting Indonesian value chain and Singapore decarbonization

Indonesia's goal is to achieve economic carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. However, in the past decade, the country's dependence on coal power generation has significantly increased, with coal from various sources accounting for approximately 60% of Indonesia's power generation structure as of 2021.

The Asian Development Bank has recently identified helping this Southeast Asian country transition from coal as one of the key priorities of a $35 million clean energy financing initiative, the GEAPP Energy Access and Transformation Trust Fund. The fund was launched in April by the Asian Development Bank and the non-profit organization Global Alliance for Human and Earth Energy. At the same time, cross-border energy transportation has always been a hot topic throughout Southeast Asia. At the recently held 2023 Asian Energy Storage Summit, many participants mentioned the proposal of ASEAN Power Grid.

For countries like Singapore with high energy demand but almost no land to accommodate renewable energy generation, cross-border access to energy from places like Malaysia or Indonesia with sufficient land and solar resources may be crucial for decarbonization and grid modernization.

However, developer Shengke recently abandoned a plan for such a project. This Singaporean based infrastructure developer announced in March the termination of a joint development agreement involving a project in the Batam, Bintan, and Karim regions of Indonesia, which will accommodate up to 1GW of solar photovoltaic power with battery storage and transmit it to SingaporeEditor/XingWentao