The Singapore International Energy Week 2020 (SIEW 2020) kicked off on 26 October with the SIEW Opening Remarks delivered by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Chan Chun Sing. In his address, Minister Chan highlighted the paths forward for Singapore’s low carbon energy future.
Key announcements from Minister Chan’s Opening Remarks include:
1. $49 million research fund for low carbon energy solutions
The Singapore Government announced a $49 million Low-Carbon Energy Research Funding Initiative to support the research, development and demonstration projects in low carbon energy technologies such as hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) over the next five years. “Hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, are promising technologies that have the potential to transform Singapore’s energy landscape and help us achieve our long-term emissions reduction goals,” said Minister Chan. “This new funding initiative strengthens our current efforts and will accelerate our transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.”
2. Ramping up hydrogen developments in Singapore
One of the projects under the Low-Carbon Energy Research Funding Initiative involves the blending of hydrogen into Singapore’s natural gas-based power plants. Minister Chan added: “The use of hydrogen on a larger scale is relatively nascent and new to Singapore’s energy landscape. We have been studying the feasibility of hydrogen use in different sectors and now have a better sense of the challenges involved.”
3. Singapore-Australia collaboration to advance low-emission solutions
At a virtual ceremony on the side lines of SIEW 2020, Minister Chan and Australia’s Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Hon. Angus Taylor MP, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in low-emissions solutions. The priority areas of cooperation include low-carbon hydrogen, CCUS, renewable energy trade, and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV).
4. Tapping on regional power grids to improve energy resilience
Minister Chan also announced a two-year trial for electricity imports from Malaysia to Singapore. The trial aims to assess and refine the technical and regulatory frameworks for importing electricity into Singapore. This would help to facilitate larger-scale imports from the region in the future.
5. Singapore will expand solar deployment to 1.5 GWp by 2025
Solar deployment in Singapore will gain even greater focus over the next five years. “Solar power is our most promising renewable energy resource. We need to maximise its role in the energy mix,” said Minister Chan. To that end, the Singapore Government intends to work with the private sector towards potentially achieving 1.5 GWp of solar deployment by 2025.
6. Singapore’s first floating energy storage system
One key issue to overcome with regards to solar deployment is the intermittent nature of solar energy. To address this, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Keppel Offshore & Marine have jointly awarded a research grant to pilot Singapore’s first floating Energy Storage System. This will see the deployment of Singapore’s first stacked energy storage system on Keppel’s Floating Living Lab, which can potentially reduce the footprint required for deployment by up to 40%.
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