According to reporting from Renewables Now, Singapore-based renewable energy firm Equator Renewables Asia (ERA) has partnered with China’s CRE International Co Ltd (CREI) to develop a 900-MWp solar and 1.2-GWh battery energy storage project in Indonesia’s Riau Islands, aimed at exporting clean power to Singapore.
The multi-billion-dollar project, backed by CREI, a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), is expected to generate around 830 GWh of electricity per year once completed in 2029. CREI will invest in, construct and operate the generation assets, while ERA will manage transmission and electricity off-take coordination, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday (28/10/25).
The cooperation framework agreement between them marks the first Chinese investment in Singapore’s cross-border low-carbon electricity initiative and the first project announced under ERA’s Singapore-Indonesia renewable energy programme.
Renewables Now reports that ERA is one of six companies holding conditional licences from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) to import clean energy into the city-state. Its conditional licence specifies it can import 400 MWac of renewable electricity via subsea cable.
Singapore plans to import about 6 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, covering roughly a third of its future energy needs as part of its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the statement said.
“We are exceedingly bullish on the demand for low carbon energy in Singapore and our vision from day one has been to position ourselves to meet this burgeoning need. This utility-scale project is the first and major step for ERA to turn vision into impact,” said Frank Phuan, founder and CEO of ERA.
“Leveraging CNNC’s global engineering experience and ERA’s regional experience, this project will showcase the potential of large-scale solar and storage integration in Southeast Asia,” added CREI’s Singapore country manager Sun Jinfeng.
Phuan used to be the CEO of Singapore-based solar developer-operator Sunseap, which was acquired by Portugal’s EDP Renewables (ELI:EDPR) in 2022. ERA was set up this year after Phuan bought over its assets from EDP Renewables APAC. He has been working on the Indonesian project for more than three years as part of the Sunseap EDPR regionalisation drive, according to Tuesday’s statement.
Source: Renewables Now
Stock Photo by Sungrow EMEA on Unsplash
