S$10m given to 8 research teams under clean energy programme

Channel NewsAsia 4 Jul 08;

SINGAPORE: Eight research teams have received a total of S$10 million to fund their projects on clean energy.

The projects span a wide range of technologies in the solar energy field.

These include research and development in the various main classes of solar energy, including purification of solar-grade silicon used in conventional wafer-based solar cells, thin-film photovoltaics (PV), novel PV technologies such as dye-sensitised solar cells, as well as high-efficiency concentrator solar cells.

The S$10 million in grants were given out by the Clean Energy Programme Office.

The eight research proposals came from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Sinomem Technology. They were picked from 60 submissions.

The proposals were the first to be awarded the grants under the Clean Energy Research Programme (CERP), which aims to accelerate research and development efforts to help drive the growth of the clean energy industry in Singapore. - CNA/ir

$10m boost for solar-power studies
Straits Times 5 Jul 08;

SCIENTISTS yesterday received a $10 million boost for research into solar power.

Eight projects were the first to be awarded grants under the $50 million Clean Energy Research Programme, launched by the Economic Development Board.

The winners 'will contribute to the international effort to replace greenhouse-emitting energy sources with clean, renewable energy', said Professor Andrew Blakers, a member of the expert panel that evaluated the proposals.

Dr Stephen Wittkopf and his team from the National University of Singapore were one of the recipients. They will be installing new-age solar panels on the campus' department of architecture building.

Solar panels used to be 'black, bulky and ugly' and eschewed by style-conscious architects, explained Dr Wittkopf. However, his team will use translucent and coloured panels that can be incorporated into a building's facade.

The team plans to spend the next three years testing which of the prototypes work best.

The results will be compiled into a comprehensive database for architects, for reference on their green designs.

TANIA TAN

Solar research gets EDB funding boost
Business Times 5 Jul 08;

THE Economic Development Board (EDB) said yesterday it has awarded $10 million to eight solar energy research teams under the clean energy research programme.

The eight proposals were chosen from 60 submissions in this first grant call, on the back of Singapore's growing interest in green energy.

The proposed studies will look at how to raise the performance of solar cells and cut the cost of producing them. They include research on purifying the silicon used in conventional wafer-based solar cells, thin-film photovoltaics, new technology such as dye-sensitised cells, and high-efficiency concentrator cells.

The $50 million clean energy programme was launched on Oct 30 last year. And EDB plans to issue two grant calls every year.

Academia, public sector agencies and non-profit organisations qualify for full grants for direct costs, while the private sector can receive funding of up to 70 per cent.

Proposals must first be submitted to international peer reviewers. Short-listed proposals are then assessed by an EDB evaluation panel.

The next grant call is expected to open next month.

The government has pledged $350 million to build a clean energy sector, with a focus on solar power. The industry is expected to contribute $1.7 billion to gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.

Solar energy can be sexy
Research grants aim to reduce costs and showcaseits prettier side
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 6 Jul 08;

YOU do not need to be a scientist to make your mark in the solar industry.

That is what Dr Stephen Wittkopf from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Department of Architecture proved on Friday.

One of eight research project leaders awarded a total of $10 million in grants under the Clean Energy Research Programme (Cerp), Dr Wittkopf credits architects for morphing bulky, dark-coloured solar panels of yore into sleek, multi-functional building components. Instead of sitting on rooftops, the panels can now be part of the building’s “skin”.

His idea is to set up a “demo site” within NUS’ school of architecture. This would measure and collect data on solar radiation in buildings, as well as the efficiency of their photovoltaic components (which convert solar energy into electricity).

The site, which Dr Wittkopf reckons is the first of its kind in South-east Asia, would change the public’s perception that solar technology is visually unappealing. He said: “With new technology, there are fewer limitations , and that would make it more attractive for architects. In a couple of years, we won’t know it’s a photovoltaic panel, because it won’t look like one.”

For instance, they could resemble pretty stained glass mosaics, or multi-task as sun shades or skylights, he said.

Lower costs and higher efficiency are the key ideas driving the eight research proposals that were awarded grants under Cerp, whose inaugural grant call focuses on solar technologies.

Over the next three years, the eight research teams will work toward the holy grail of “grid parity” so that electricity generated from solar energy will cost the same as that from fossil fuels, at about US$1 ($1.35) per watt.

Currently, energy from silicon-based solar cells costs about four times that amount, said Professor Tse Man Siu of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the co-principal investigator of one of the awarded proposals. The project will develop a low-cost solid variant of dye-sensitised solar cells, improving on liquid variants used now which deteriorate after a while.

Said Professor Tse: “We are excited because of the potential to develop cheap and new technology to manufacture solar cells.”