RExus Bioenergy Plant

Ramboll is proud to be Lender’s Technical, Environmental and Social Advisor (LTESA) for the RExus Bioenergy Plant, supporting the development of Singapore’s first circular biomass power plant. The 13-megawatt plant, developed by Rexus Bioenergy with the support of project financing provided by DBS’s green loans^[1], is one of the first large-scale biomass facilities in the country, and will utilise construction and industrial wood waste as its primary feedstock, tapping into an untapped resource in Singapore and aligning with the Singapore Green Plan 2030. This innovative approach not only addresses waste management issues, but also contributes to resource circularity through the production of byproducts and sustainable energy. The plant also looks to integrate carbon capture technologies in later stages to further close the loop.

As the LTESA, Ramboll provides independent technical, environmental and social advisory support to the lender, ensuring a clear understanding of the feasibility and risks for financing the project. By bringing combined technical, environmental and social expertise to the process, Ramboll’s team ensured an integrated approach was adopted to the identification and assessment of relevant risks and impacts, whilst reducing the number of touchpoints for coordination for the client.

As part of the technical due diligence, Ramboll provided a thorough evaluation of the proposed facility, covering the key aspects such as technology, site suitability, key commercial agreements regulation & permits, project schedule, organisation, regulation and permits, and financial input assumptions. By leveraging its deep knowledge of biomass projects globally and understanding of the local market, the team’s technical acumen and clear assessment of associated risks, provided Lender’s with the information needed to complete the project financing arrangement.

Environmental and social risks and impacts were assessed against both local regulatory requirements and international standards such as the IFC Performance Standards on behalf of the lender, a signatory to the Equator Principles for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in projects. Minimising construction and operational phase risks as well as managing longer-term positive impacts such as resource circularity and generation of green electricity to International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) standard were key aspects reviewed.

The project had been featured as one of the first movers in compliance with the recently announced Asia Taxonomy by the Singapore Monetary Authority, through aligning with the bioenergy sector green criteria under Singapore-Asia Taxonomy (SAT) for Sustainable Finance and will set a new and practical benchmark for future renewable energy projects in Singapore^[2]. Rexus Bioenergy has secured a 10-year back-to-back virtual power purchase agreement with electricity retailer PacificLight Energy and Google, and the plant is expected to power part of Google’s data center operations in Singapore.

Construction of the biomass facility commenced earlier in 2025, with Ramboll committed to supporting the lender in ensuring that the plant is on track to complete within its projected construction period, whilst also ensuring progress towards meeting lender-linked green loan commitments. During the operational phase, Ramboll will also periodically monitor over a period of 8 years, ensuring continuous support to the successful delivery of the project.

The facility is expected to start its operation end 2026.

_References

_{[1] https://www.dbs.com/newsroom/DBS_green_loan_powers_wider_adoption_of_biofuels_to_enable_a_circular_economy_and_help_accelerate_Singapores_net_zero_ambitions}

_{[2] https://www.mas.gov.sg/-/media/mas-media-library/development/sustainable-finance/mas-singapore-asia-taxonomy-information-note.pdf}