Singapore could draw more green energy projects

Ronnie Lim, Business Times 5 Nov 08;

SINGAPORE could attract even more mega investments to develop new alternative and renewable energy ideas and technologies for the world, energy officials said.

Finland's Neste Oil, which is starting up a S$1.2 billion second-generation biodiesel plant here in 2011 - the largest in the world - is eyeing that option.

'There's room for another line of the same capacity,' for both the Singapore facility, and a sister plant in Rotterdam starting up in late 2011, Jarmo Honkamaa, its deputy CEO, disclosed at an energy conference here yesterday.

Given rising global energy demand and high oil prices on the one hand and environmental concerns on the other, renewable transportation fuels are a true option, he said. 'It is a new supply source and also helps diversify fuel supplies.'

Neste, which is exporting the palm oil-based, sulphur-free diesel produced here mainly to Europe, needs to build up even more capacity, he said. There is growing diesel demand there, with two-thirds of European cars expected to be diesel-fuelled by 2030.

That's why it is already looking at expanding capacity beyond its Singapore and Rotterdam plants, which will be respectively its third and fourth bio-diesel plants.

Mr Honkamaa was speaking at the Singapore Energy Conference taking place during International Energy Week here, where experts like Peter Schwartz, chairman of Global Business Outlook, have said that 'Singapore could be the seller of technology to the world'.

Reinforcing this, Robert Hefner, owner of natural gas company GHK, said that despite its small size, 'Singapore has indeed a role to play in energy ideas.'

Strom Madsen, president of Vesta Technology R&D, which opened its S$500 million Asian headquarters in Singapore on Monday, told the conference that the global financial crisis, although worrying, provides an opportunity for a paradigm shift towards sustainable energy.

The wind-turbine maker, for instance, has not scaled back on its Singapore investment, he stressed. Expected to employ 300 scientists by 2012, he said that 'the Singapore facility will attract talent including engineers and researchers who will come here to develop important contributions in renewable energy.'

Wind energy will become one of the most competitive energy sources, he added, saying that from about 2 per cent today, it is projected to account for as much as a quarter of energy supplies in future.

Coincidentally, just last Friday, Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation, launched construction of its first phase S$3 billion solar cell plant here - which will also be the world's largest when it starts up in 2010.

Apart from making solar wafers, solar cells and solar modules, REC will also conduct R&D, process innovation and development here.

Also promoting the line of how cities like Singapore can serve as clean technology test-bedding and R&D hubs, Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar said at the conference that they can leverage upon their concentrations of technological and scientific talent as well as access to capital markets and funding.

The Singapore government has allocated funding to facilitate this, including developing a Cleantech Park at Jalan Bahar 'which will allow test-bedding of products and solutions for the Tropics, including ideas that are replicable for global markets,' he added.