Bahlil Finalises Plan for Clean Electricity Export to Singapore
Indonesia and Singapore are finalising plans for clean electricity export and projecting the Riau Islands to become a sustainable technology industry hub.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated in Jakarta on Sunday (15 March 2026) that the plan for clean electricity export from Indonesia to Singapore is intended not merely as energy trade, but also as a catalyst for attracting high-technology industry investment. The Government intends to leverage the availability of green energy to attract global companies to establish production facilities and technology centres in the Batam, Bintan, and Karimun (BBK) region. This would allow the region to develop into a new green industrial centre in Indonesia.
“I have received reports that the industrial zone is nearly finalised. We will build it in the Riau Islands region. And I am currently clearing this. Once that is completed, I believe this represents one of the advances in preparation,” Bahlil said.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia held a meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and energy affairs Tan See Leng in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday (15 March) local time.
In agreement with this, Minister Tan See Leng welcomed the technical progress regarding this cooperation. “I believe most of the technical discussions have made good progress,” Tan See Leng said.
In the meeting, both nations also discussed the development of sustainable industrial zones in Batam, Bintan, and Karimun. The Government is preparing a framework to ensure domestic electricity needs remain prioritised before export, whilst opening opportunities for low-carbon technology cooperation such as carbon capture and storage (CCS).
“Regarding CCS, I have prepared the regulations. We can then conduct collaboration on this,” Bahlil said.
Another focus of the discussion was electricity export. Bahlil offered electricity export originating from solar power plants (PLTS), in line with the 100-gigawatt (GW) electricity programme being built to meet domestic needs and potentially export to neighbouring countries. However, there is a price challenge, where green energy prices are higher than fossil fuel energy prices.
Both ministers agreed that this synergy represents a demonstration of energy leadership in ASEAN. With technical support and investment from Singapore and abundant resources from Indonesia, the vision of becoming a key player in the green energy supply chain is now on the right track.
Concrete implementation through a pilot project in the BBK region is expected to commence shortly as tangible evidence of the three memoranda of understanding previously signed.