Clean energy ideas create buzz

Elizabeth Wilmot, Straits Times 5 Mar 09;

IMAGINE a world in which waste is converted into clean energy, where sewage can be easily purified, and where tricycles are solar-powered.

These are just some of the 11 ideas for clean energy from companies invited to present such proposals to the Asia Forum for Clean Energy Financing held at the Grand Plaza Park Hotel.

Three of the 11 ideas were picked as winners.

Mr Tan Keng Hong, executive manager of Advon Singapore, one of the winning companies, outlined the firm's vision of a desalination system with a difference.

'This product is very innovative in the sense that it can have two functions at the same time - it can generate cooling and it can do water desalination,' he said. 'We are very excited. We feel there's potential and if everything is successful, I'm sure this product will sell.'

The one-day forum was organised by energy giants like the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI), part of the International Energy Agency.

The forum, backed by Spring Singapore, aimed to provide an opportunity for potential investors to be introduced to developers of clean energy projects from all over Asia.

Of the 60 proposals received, 11 were short-listed and presented to a panel of judges at the forum last night.

The three final winners will receive consultancy services from CTI's Private Financing Advisory Network for their clean energy proposals.

Spring's Victor Tay, who is director of transport, logistics, environmental and engineering services, biomedical and chemicals, said: 'Singapore has been actively looking at the environmental sector as an area for growth.

'We see a lot of small and medium-sized enterprises or entrepreneurs here who are looking towards innovative projects and ideas, and therefore this has become a facilitation platform where good ideas and good environmental technology projects are fleshed out.'

Another winner was Aequero, an advisory and asset management firm for clients involved in energy sectors.

Chief executive Duncan Ritchie said the first thing the firm would do was 'finalise the project development and build our first plant, probably in the Philippines or Thailand'.

He was undaunted by the implementation of his clean diesel project idea amid the crisis. 'I don't think any of the financial worries or concerns we have at the moment should derail us from the fundamental issue at hand, which is environmental concerns such as climate change, carbon emissions and so on.

Said Mr Tay: 'There are clearly many sectors not performing that well, but the environmental (sector) is one of those that is still growing. In fact, we project in the next five to 10 years, it will be a stellar performer, given there are limited natural fuel resources.'

The winners

The three winning clean energy project proposals:

# Full Advantage (Thailand)

To develop an integrated facility to harness energy from biogas, a by-product of organic matter breakdown, and biocompost, waste from a bioethanol plant and sugar mill.

# Aequero (Singapore and Hong Kong)

To use a catalytic process to convert plant organic waste and rubbish into clean diesel while producing no harmful gases.

# Advon Singapore (Singapore)

To develop a desalination system which can purify seawater or sewage water while performing a cooling function at the same time.