Costs of solar power still high: Reply from MTI

But Govt doing research on how to better harness clean energy
Reply from MTI, Today Online 5 Dec 07;
Letter from Lim Bee Khim
Director, Corporate Communications for Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Trade and Industry

Lawrence Ong and Theresa Ng ('Solar energy costs too hot to handle?', Nov 29) were concerned that the Government was dismissing solar power and asked for further clarifications on the cost of solar power.

We would like to clarify that the Government has certainly not dismissed solar power.

In formulating our national energy policy, we recognise that solar energy offers potential in diversifying our energy mix and reducing emissions.

We are, for a start, enhancing our capabilities in solar energy by committing funds for research and development (R&D) in solar and other forms of clean energy.

For instance, the National Research Foundation has put aside $170 million for clean energy R&D, much of which will go into solar energy R&D, while the Economic Development Board (EDB) has recently launched the $17-million Clean Energy Research and Testbedding (Cert) Programme, to test bed various types of solar and clean energy technologies on public buildings.

The estimated cost range for solar photovoltaic (PV) power varies among different studies conducted by various groups, ranging from 40 to 90 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Recognising that Singapore has relatively-high levels of solar radiation, we have taken the lower end of the cost range for solar PV power (that is, 40 to 90 cents per kWh), which works out to be about two to three times our household tariffs (21 cents per kWh for the October to December period).

As solar technologies improve over time, it is possible that solar PV energy becomes cost-competitive vis-a-vis conventional electricity.

In the meantime, to reduce the cost of connecting solar power to our power grid, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) has removed the registration fee previously imposed on facilities selling electricity into the grid.

The EMA has also published a Handbook for Photovoltaic (PV) Systems, which explains the market and technical issues regarding the connection of PV systems to the grid, to make it easier for solar PV users to export any excess electricity to the grid.