Singapore’s Sustainable Energy Story: Low-carbon energy deployment strategies and challenges

Being a small, resource-constrained country, Singapore has been dependent on the import of energy products, such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc., since its independence. Specifically, it has relied on natural gas, which is the cleanest form of fossil fuel, for several years. In the past, the natural gas supply came from the neighboring countries of Indonesia and Malaysia through pipelines. However, the construction of the Singapore Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal in 2013 allowed Singapore to import and store liquefied natural gas from many different countries and sources, thus broadening its natural gas supply options. A four-switch approach (see Figure 1) was presented with the aim of having a future where energy is sustainable, reliable, affordable, and produced and consumed efficiently. The four switches mentioned are as follows: