（Singapore, 22.10.2026） Indonesia’s warning that it could review energy exports to countries it considers disrespectful has brought the uncertainties surrounding overseas supplies into focus, as Singapore pursues both regional electricity imports and greater domestic solar generation.
Against this backdrop, 9 Solar FinTech CEO Kerr Sun believes Singapore should continue developing cross-border energy partnerships while making fuller use of its own rooftops.
“We should import what we need, but maximise what we can generate ourselves,” he said in written responses on Singapore’s energy future.
According to The Straits Times, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia said on October 22 that Jakarta would evaluate energy export agreements with countries that failed to show mutual respect. He did not identify any country or announce specific export restrictions.
His remarks followed comments a day earlier suggesting that Indonesia might not renew gas export contracts with neighbouring countries as it prioritised domestic needs.
Indonesia’s role in Singapore’s energy supply is significant, with The Straits Times citing Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong’s statement in Parliament in September 2025 that Indonesia was one of the Republic’s main natural gas suppliers. Existing import contracts were due to expire at the end of 2028.
Separately, the two countries are pursuing low-carbon electricity trade, although pricing negotiations remain unresolved. Singapore’s Energy Market Authority has granted conditional licences to six Indonesian electricity import projects with a combined capacity of 3 gigawatts.
These proposed electricity imports and existing natural gas arrangements illustrate the importance of overseas partnerships to Singapore’s energy supply, providing a backdrop to Sun’s call for greater domestic generation.
Sun said Singapore’s limited land and natural resources should not prevent it from making greater use of suitable rooftop space.
“Energy security is national security,” he said.
Making More Rooftops Work
Industrial buildings, warehouses, commercial properties and landed homes all offer opportunities for additional solar generation, according to Sun.
Large industrial roofs can accommodate sizeable installations, while residential rooftops collectively represent further untapped potential.
He believes the challenge is to make participation financially attractive for property owners while helping viable projects move more efficiently from planning to operation.
To improve grid connectivity, Sun called for simpler connection procedures, fewer unnecessary administrative delays and better coordination among the relevant agencies.
Greater certainty over the process would help developers plan investments and bring systems into service sooner, said Sun, adding that “every month saved means more clean electricity generated for Singapore”.
Sun also proposed more attractive grants, tax incentives or other financial support for owners who make their rooftops available for solar generation.
Under the commercial model he described, property owners provide rooftop space, developers contribute investment and expertise, and corporate buyers commit to purchasing renewable electricity.
Owners could receive rental income or other financial benefits, depending on the arrangement, while developers take responsibility for building and operating the systems.
“When going green makes economic sense, people will adopt it much faster,” he said.
Sun said 9 Solar FinTech had secured a major corporate buyer for its renewable electricity, pointing to commercial demand for locally generated green power. He believes long-term corporate purchase commitments can support wider deployment by giving developers greater visibility over future revenue.
His proposal focuses on rooftops that are both technically suitable and commercially viable. Sun said the goal should be to leave no viable rooftop behind.
Financing the Next Stage
Beyond securing rooftop space and an electricity buyer, developers need capital to build installations before earning revenue over the systems’ operating lives.
Sun urged Singapore’s banks to provide more accessible, competitively priced, long-term green financing for credible solar developers with viable projects and secured electricity purchase agreements.
He believes lenders should give greater weight to the contracted cash flows associated with these projects when assessing financing applications.
“Instead of evaluating solar developers purely as ordinary businesses, banks should also recognise the long-term contracted cash flows and strategic national value of renewable energy infrastructure,” he said.
Stronger financing support would help developers undertake more installations and achieve economies of scale, Sun added.
He also sees rooftop solar as a practical complement to regional electricity imports. Cross-border projects can require years of planning, international agreements and infrastructure development, whereas suitable rooftop installations can often be deployed more quickly.
Sun acknowledged that rooftop solar cannot generate power around the clock or independently meet Singapore’s energy needs.
“Of course, solar alone cannot replace 24-hour electricity imports, but every additional megawatt generated locally strengthens our energy resilience,” he said.
With Singapore raising its solar deployment target to 3 gigawatt-peak by 2030 while pursuing low-carbon electricity imports, Sun called for closer coordination among government agencies, banks, building owners, corporate buyers and developers to expand rooftop solar deployment.
Under his proposed approach, agencies would facilitate grid connections, financial institutions would support viable developments, and property owners would make suitable space available. Corporate buyers would commit to long-term electricity purchases, while developers would build, operate and maintain the installations.
