SIEW Energy Insights - Webinar Series: Key Takeaways to "Revolutionising Change for the Grid of the Future"

The pathway to modernising and preparing the grid for the future is clear- but only if the right strategies and technologies are in place. Not surprisingly, stronger policy frameworks are seen as vital to accelerate decarbonisation, while also balancing near-term energy security for the region.

These were the views of expert speakers at the SIEW Energy Insights Webinar on 29 June. Held in partnership with SIEW partner Future of the Grid, the panel discussion centred on how grid modernisation will play a crucial role in ASEAN's sustainable and low carbon energy transition.

A pressing call to action

Underlying all of this is the need for urgent action to catalyse the transition, said Ms Saumya Rao, Associate Director, Project Finance, Infrastructure Advisory, PwC, Southeast Asia, as she kicked off the webinar with a report on “Energy Transition in Southeast Asia” that profiled the region’s energy transition readiness.

Source: “Energy Transition in Southeast Asia” report by PwC.

Ms Rao, who was also the panel moderator, said Southeast Asia faces a depleting energy reserve against an exponential growth in energy demand. Energy security is a problem that cannot be wished away. Fossil fuels are still needed to bridge the transition. “Completely phasing out coal would be impractical in the short and medium term for ensuring energy security in ASEAN due to the growing energy demand,” she said.

She added that diversification of the energy supply is needed to expand the energy system, with renewable energy seen as the solution. “The question now is, how fast can it be done and what needs to be done to make this happen faster in Southeast Asia," she asked.

Source: Menti poll by SIEW.

In an audience poll, more than half (57%) felt that integrating diverse energy sources was a major challenge faced by the region in achieving a cross-border grid.

An energy reset

Increased adoption of variable renewable energy and growing energy demand will require the grid to be resilient, smarter and more flexible.

To make that transition, Mr Gabriel Yap, Head of Section (Operation Digitalisation), SP Group, shared that a key part of Singapore's energy reset is diversifying its energy mix. This harnesses "four supply switches" comprising natural gas, solar, regional imports and low carbon alternatives which includes carbon capture, hydrogen and possibly even nuclear.

He shared that solar is Singapore's most promising renewable energy source. "The challenge for Singapore is that it's a dense city. This means there's limited land spaces for solar deployment. So this is where the opportunity for innovation comes in."

Technology at the heart of change

Source: "Energy Transition in Southeast Asia" report by PwC.

The panellists shared that it will be exciting to see developments in digitalisation that will change the face of the grid. They highlighted new smart grid technologies being trialled, including blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT).

One technology that must be factored into any holistic consideration of smart grids is energy storage. The panellists believe this could provide the strategic leverage needed to balance out the variability in power generation as more renewable sources come online.

Mr Hanzel Cubangbang, Senior Market Applications Officer for Southeast Asia, Fluence, shared that "Energy storage can provide additional flexibility to the grid and better manage the challenges brought about by renewable energy… energy storage can react and respond faster to frequency variations brought about by intermittency and the variability of renewable energy."

Mr Yap also pointed out that batteries from electric vehicles can function as an alternative energy storage to the grid. "EVs are essentially very small-scale, mobile Energy Storage Systems which have the potential to enhance grid reliability to cater for demand. This is where Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) comes in."

The panellists on how grid modernisation will play a crucial role in ASEAN's sustainable and low carbon energy transition.

Enabling policies to bolster progress

However, solving the challenges of the reality of the energy landscape is going to take more than the power of innovation. Policies and regulations will be critical to help shape modern energy systems.

Source: Mentimeter poll by SIEW.

As a second audience poll revealed, stronger regulatory frameworks ranked as a top priority in terms of revolutionising change for the grid of the future; with strategic collaboration between countries a close second.

Responding to that, Mr Patrick Avery, VP Power Grid Automation, G&W Electric Co, said: "One of the biggest regulatory challenges is being able to get the interconnection agreement from the utilities to apply your microgrid to their power grid. In a lot of cases, the utilities' power grid can't handle the large influx of microgrid applications." He noted that for over a hundred years, power grids have been uni-directional and centralised by design, flowing from utility to consumer. The rise of decentralised generation has been a disruptive force to utilities.

Powering into the future

It is not easy to have a clear picture of what the grid of the future will look like.

However, there are a few key priorities moving forward. As Ms Rao summed up: "There needs to be a strategic collaboration between countries to be able to revolutionise the change… We need stronger policy frameworks to be able to operationalise change, to give the right signals and create investments in R&D… And we need the development of smart technologies to build a smarter grid of the future."

Revisit the discussions from the SIEW Energy Insights - Webinar Series: Revolutionising Change for the Grid of the Future here. Looking ahead to SIEW 2022 Want to hear directly from the energy experts, decision-makers and thought leaders on their insights and perspectives? Join us at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2022, taking place on 25-28 October. Pre-Register your interest here.