The inaugural International Energy Week took place from 3–7 November 2008 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore,[2] and was attended by 2500 people.

[4] Also during the event, Vestas Wind Systems, an official partner of Singapore International Energy in 2008, opened its largest research facility outside of its home country of Denmark.

[12] The Expo featured five pavilions, showcasing clean energy solutions from Australia, Brazil, Europe, Japan and Singapore.

[13] During the event, the EMA hosted the inaugural Singapore Electric Vehicle Roundtable where the "challenges and solutions in EV implementation" were discussed.

[15] The EMA also announced a 'smart' electrical grid project to be implemented at the Nanyang Technological University and the Jalan Bahar Cleantech Park.

[13] The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (headed by Joachim Luther) was officially opened, with the stated aim of "investing $130 million into the industry in the next five years.

[21] Approximately 14,000 people were involved with the event,[22] including government officials, business leaders, academics, investors, as well as representatives from energy-resource and environmental companies from 60 countries.

On 2 November, at the Power-GEN Asia Conference, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, S. Iswaran announced Singapore's plans to build a third liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank.

[31] 20,000 people and 550 exhibitors participated in the event, including government officials, business leaders, academics, investors, as well as representatives from energy-resource and environmental companies from 60 countries.

Sharing the stage for the first time were the CEOs of Royal Dutch Shell and Petrobras, Peter Voser and José Gabrielli respectively, as they discuss the future of the global energy industry.

Such a grid, to be done in phases, would integrate Asean's energy markets, and would require investments into trans-Asean gas pipelines and expanding connections between member countries.

Ms van der Hoeven also underscored that natural gas will be vital to powering Asia's massive electrification in the years ahead.

[41] The panel discussions under SES cover the prospective impact of gas and its potential to play a larger role in fuelling Asia, the energy map of the future, the resurgence in fossil fuels and necessary initiatives to adopt "green growth".

He assessed the diverse challenges facing the global gas market – including the pricing, outlook and structural issues in North America, Europe and Asia.

The four energy switches are: Natural Gas, Solar, Regional Power Grids and Low-Carbon Alternatives, such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.