Singapore is ready to grant licenses of 30 years for the importation of low-carbon energy

Singapore will grant import licenses for 30 years to companies that invest billions in low-carbon energy projects. The head of Singapore's energy regulator announced this on Wednesday. This is a measure to help the firms recover their initial investment.

The city-state has set a goal to import 6 gigawatts of low-carbon energy by 2035. It has given conditional approvals to 10 projects in Australia.

At the Singapore International Energy Week, Puah Keong, CEO of the Energy Market Authority said that it would cost billions to build these large solar farms, and to install the large batteries to equalize the supply.

He also said that the cost of laying power cables connecting Singapore to other countries would be high.

Puah stated that "from the Singaporean side, we're prepared to grant a 30-year import license to the companies who have invested in this program, as we understand the large upfront investment, and the time required to recover the investments." (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong, Janane Venkatraman and Florence Tan in Singapore)

(source: Reuters)