Study finds Jurong Island power plant may not impact corals, but experts raise questions on methods

SINGAPORE – An environmental study for one of the first developments in an area of Jurong Island

carved out for low-carbon technologies

has found that its impacts on the marine environment would be limited.

Slated to be

up and running by 2029

, electricity retailer PacificLight’s 670MW hydrogen-compatible natural gas power plant and energy storage system will be able to power more than 864,000 four-room flats for a year.

Much of the 430-page report, published online in mid-February, was focused on identifying the development’s impacts on the marine environment, which are likely to arise from discharge released by the power plant.

This includes stormwater run-off from the premises and seawater that is taken in to cool the plant and subsequently released. Such discharge could be heated and contain chlorine, which can stress marine life and even cause death at elevated levels.

Hard corals, in particular, are sensitive to heat. When stressed by warmer waters during a marine heatwave, corals turn ashen white in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.

The nearest known coral reef to the power plant is known as the Helios Secondary Reef, and is located about 700m away from the discharge outlet. It is made up of corals that colonised the seawall and artificial structures at the southern hook of Jurong Island.

The environmental impact assessment by consultancy ERM (Environmental Resources Management) had involved studying samples of plankton and bottom-dwelling organisms.

Information on corals at Helios Secondary Reef had been gleaned from a 2012 study by the National Parks Board. The ERM report noted that the reef was significant in supporting a number of nationally vulnerable and near threatened coral species.

Modelling studies were also conducted to deduce how far the heated discharge would spread.

Under ASEAN guidelines on marine water quality, heated discharge should not raise the surrounding sea temperature beyond 2 deg C.

Models showed that a more than 2 deg C increase in water temperature could extend up to 300m away from the discharge point. Such an outcome would happen less than 1 per cent of the time during the north-east monsoon season, when wind speeds are higher, models showed.

Within 100m of the discharge outlet, temperatures could rise by 2 deg C about 20 per cent of the time.

Models also showed that the chlorine levels within 300m are compliant with international standards, said the report. Therefore, the marine impact was deemed to be minor and negligible.

However, some experts and nature groups raised questions about the rigour of the environmental study, pointing to how the report’s conclusion on impact to corals was based not on field surveys, but from a study that could now be outdated.

Ms Rachael Goh, co-lead of land use planning at environmental group LepakInSG, pointed out that the coral community composition could have changed over the past 14 years.

“While the Helios Secondary Reef is located far away from the canal outlet, corals could have established on the sea walls nearer to the outlet. The thing is, we wouldn’t know for certain because no surveys were conducted.”

Other experts also pointed out that two major coral bleaching events happened after 2012, which could have affected the reef health and species diversity on Helios.

Research fellow Lionel Ng from the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute said “many things have happened between 2012 and 2025 – including two major coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2024 – and a few minor ones, as well as other marine impacts that may not have been as well documented”, and these events could have resulted in a reef environment that is different from what was reported in the 2012 report.

Emeritus Professor Chou Loke Ming of the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences acknowledged that the report did consider the distance of the Helios reef from the impact area.

“But it would be better if a more recent assessment of (the) reef was made. It is a developing reef habitat and may possibly be supporting more vulnerable species as time goes on,” he said.

Prof Chou added that such reefs “display a remarkable ability to regenerate” and should be fully utilised in nature-based solutions to protect coastlines against rising seas.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, PacificLight said the scope and methods of the environmental baseline assessment were developed in consultation with relevant government agencies.

“The studies we have undertaken, which have been conducted against applicable ASEAN and international thresholds for aquatic life protection, show that our project will not cause significant stress to any coral communities in the vicinity of the discharge outlet,” it added.

The company said it will also develop plans to outline how risks to the marine environment will be managed during the facility’s construction and operation. These include setting up silt curtains during construction to minimise sedimentation – which can be harmful to corals – and monitoring the temperature and chlorine levels of the discharge.

PacificLight said plankton and tiny bottom-dwelling organisms were chosen for on-site sampling because they are early indicators of changes in water quality such as temperature, residual chlorine, and nutrients.

“(They) exist within and near to the predicted extent of the discharge plume, and respond quickly to environmental changes,” the company said.

PacificLight’s power plant and energy storage system is among the first developments in an area carved aside for new low-carbon energy projects on Jurong Island.

JTC Corporation announced in late 2025 that around 320ha of land on the island will be earmarked

for new energy projects and a data centre park

. The areas set aside for these facilities are largely in the south-west and north-west of the island, where vegetated areas still remain.

The secondary forests mainly sprouted after reclamation of the industrial island was completed, and are mainly dominated by non-native plants, according to JTC.

The infrastructure for the upcoming plant by PacificLight will be built on vegetated land on the emptier western side of the industrial island.

The trees on the PacificLight project site largely comprise exotic and invasive species like acacia and lead tree, ERM found. The consultants also found through their biodiversity studies two critically endangered plant species – including the sea rubber vine – on the plot.

The vine was transplanted out, as will be the case for other plants threatened with extinction found before construction, said the report.

Nature experts say they have not properly surveyed Jurong Island’s vegetated areas because of restrictions there.

But Mr Muhammad Nasry Abdul Nasir, executive director of the environmental group Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, noted that the trees would help to lower temperatures on the industrial island. There could also be more bird crashes with buildings replacing vegetation, he added.

ERM’s report had identified a few locally vulnerable and near threatened bird species such as the oriental magpie robin, changeable hawk eagle, golden-bellied gerygone and the rufous-tailed tailorbird.

In response to queries on measures that will be taken to protect wildlife in Jurong Island’s vegetated areas, JTC said inspections will be conducted with a trained ecologist to check for the presence of wildlife before plants are removed.

“If active bird nests are found, we will ensure that the nests will not be affected unless they are no longer occupied. Wildlife specialists will be engaged to translocate any wildlife found to be trapped within the site during construction,” it added.

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