The first session of the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables looked at how the public and private sectors can enhance renewable energy uptake and integration.
Amid the ongoing pandemic and economic downturn, how can both the public and private sectors continue to drive renewables momentum? For the first session of the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables, a line-up of distinguished speakers gathered to discuss the policies, investments, and collaboration needed to accelerate renewable energy uptake.
Public and private partnerships are crucial to renewable energy uptake
Dr Tan See Leng, Second Minister for Trade and Industry & Manpower, Singapore, kicked off the panel discussion by underscoring the importance of partnerships, citing Singapore’s SolarNova programme as an example.
“Led by the Economic Development Board and the Housing Development Board, it promotes and aggregates the demand for solar PV systems across different agencies. Private sectors can then engage in competitive solar leasing tenders to participate in this project,” Dr Tan explained.
The other ministers and senior government officials gathered on the panel shared their insights on the need for collaboration:
- H.E. Alfonso G. Cusi, Secretary of Energy, The Philippines, explained how his country is opening its geothermal and hydro sectors to foreign collaborations to broaden its renewable energy landscape.
- H.E. Timo Tatar, Deputy Secretary General, Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure, Estonia, shared more about its recent partnership with other Baltic Sea countries to develop hybrid offshore wind projects, smart grids, energy system integration and digitalisation.
- H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General, ASEAN, expressed optimism for such synergies, highlighting the close relationship between ASEAN and IEA to explore ways to overcome technical energy and policy issues.
- H.E. João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister for Environment and Climate Action, stressed the importance of cooperating with other nations, private sectors, and R&D to accelerate the energy transition despite Portugal already making great strides in its energy transition.
What’s needed to move ahead
The panel also featured the insights of prominent industry leaders on what’s needed to drive the renewables momentum ahead.
Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer and Director, DBS Group, offered his perspective on how financing of renewables is readily available from the banking sector as well as the capital markets.
Mr Gupta explained. “The momentum towards the financing of renewable projects has been dramatic in the last two or three years. At DBS, we made a commitment just two years ago to do up to US$10 billion of renewable financing by 2024. Already, we have 37 projects, worth over US$3 billion, so we will be able to achieve our goal meaningfully ahead of time.”
Datu Haji Sharbini Suhaili, Group Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Energy, exuded confidence in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy, which taps on its natural resources and huge land area to generate 20,000 MW of hydropower to accelerate economic growth in the region. Right now, Sarawak Energy is diversifying into other renewables such as solar, and investing in the region’s first large-scale floating solar plant.
Claudio Facchin, Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi ABB Power Grids, outlined the importance of leveraging tech across the entire energy value chain, whether for bulk integration or at the grid edge. Xin Baoan, President, State Grid Corporation of China, shared his sentiments, expanding on his view on improving investment in R&D for key technology that can transform the grid.
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