The 5th edition of the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) kicked off on 31 October as part of Singapore International Energy Week. ACES 2018 was officially opened by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR); Mr Edwin Khew, Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS); and Mr Adnan Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency.
The Summit brings together leaders in the regional solar and renewables space to exchange best practices and discuss trends and solutions in the clean energy industry.
Several distinguished speakers were featured at the Clean Energy Leadersā€™ Dialogue, such as Robert Guild, Chief Sector Officer of the Asian Development Bank; Ditlev Engel, CEO of DNV GL-Energy; Duncan van Bergen, Vice President of Shell New Energies; Steve Oā€™Neil, CEO of Renewable Energy Corp; and Girish Tanti, Co-Founder & Director (Board Member) of Suzlon Energy.
Solar energy was in focus at Solarising Singapore and Asia, where Damian Chan, Executive Director of Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) gave an overview of the countryā€™s clean energy industry. A panel discussion then explored the changing solar energy landscape in Singapore. Panellists included Dr Thomas Reindl, Deputy CEO of Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore; Christophe Inglin, Managing Director of Energetix Pte Ltd; Frank Phuan, Co-Founder & Director of Sunseap Group Pte Ltd and Lee Seng Wai, Director of Energy Market Authority of Singapore.
In a session on the Digital Transformation of Energy, Angsar Hinz, Chairman and CEO of VDE Association, highlighted in a keynote address the ways energy players can optimise and benefit from an interconnected and intelligent energy system.
ACES 2018 also saw the launch of the PowerACE competition for start-ups in the energy sector, a first-of-its-kind collaborative initiative between SEAS and the Energy Research Institute at the Nanyang Technological University. Some 13 clean energy start-ups will showcase innovative ideas to industry-leading experts with the goal of driving innovation to the marketplace.
During the three-day Summit, ACES participants will be attending several other conferences such as Unlocking Solar Capital, PV Asia Scientific Conference, International Floating Solar Symposium, and Asian Conference on Energy, Power and Transportation Electrification.
Clean Energy Collaborations
Several key clean energy partnerships were announced at the Opening Ceremony of ACES 2018. These were:
- Singapore Power Group signed an MOU with JTC Corporation to develop a smart energy grid in Punggol Digital District, home to technology firms in key growth sectors such as digital and cybersecurity.
- Singaporeā€™s Economic Development Board and National Water Agency PUB unveiled new plans on large-scale floating PV systems while looking to deploy a 50 megawatt-peak floating solar PV system at Tengeh Reservoir by 2021.
- The World Bank announced that it is launching a first-of-its-kind Market Report on Floating Solar PV with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore and the International Finance Corporation.
- The International Renewable Energy Agency announced that it has signed an agreement with ASEAN to forge new partnerships aimed at scaling up renewable energy deployment and advancing the transition to a sustainable energy future.