Green temple off Pasir Panjang

Rain? Excellent!
Sun, wind and rain are put to good use at this green temple off Pasir Panjang.
TEH JEN LEE, KELVIN CHAN and TEOH YI-CHIE lookat the way nature is harnessed.
The New Paper 29 Aug 09;

IT'S a 55-year-old temple that aims to be on the cutting-edge of environmental technology, with plans to make drinking water from rain. (See graphics.)

But Poh Ern Shih Temple, off Pasir Panjang Road, has encountered an unexpected obstacle in trying to install a water filtration system on its premises.

Last month, it was found that the water storage area meant to house the filtration system would cause the temple to exceed its maximum gross floor area (GFA).

The amount of GFA, which generally refers to the covered spaces of a building, has to be approved by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in any development project.

Mr Lee Boon Siong, 70, the temple's honorary president and director, said: 'I appealed to URA not to count the area as GFA so my plan can go ahead.

'I don't know how much potable water my system can produce because I need to work out the specifications of the water tanks. But the idea is to try it out and see if it can be replicated.'

Alternative source of water

He thinks it's important to have emergency sources of drinking water because Singapore's water supply can be affected by natural disasters and weather phenomenon like El Nino.

A URA spokesman said the proposed rainwater harvesting system at the temple is part of its development proposal that was submitted for assessment and planning approval early this year.

She said: 'We have no objections to the system as a facility and approval has been granted. However, the GFA issue is still being worked out.

'We are in discussion with the management of the temple and are also working closely with the appointed architect to resolve it.'

It is understood that the architect will make design modifications in other parts of the temple to reduce its total GFA.

Besides the plan to make drinking water from rain, Mr Lee also wants to have micro-hydro power generation in the temple's water pipes.

This is possible because rain from the roof falls nearly 25m to the base of the temple's buildings.

The electricity will be used to charge the batteries of devotees' motorised wheelchairs and will also power landscape lights.

A check on the Internet shows that micro-hydro technology has been developed in countries like the US for over 25 years.

The temple's innovative features will be showcased at a seminar on 8 Sep at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas).

Mr Lee will be giving the talk on the temple's solar panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines and other eco-friendly installations.

The free seminar is open to the public who can register for it through the Iseas website (www.iseas.edu.sg).

More details about the talk on the Green Business Times

Buddhist temple shines as model of energy efficiency
Straits Times 9 Sep 09;

SINGAPORE'S first green temple is soaking up more of the planet's solar energy on its pagodas. By year end, the Buddhist temple in Pasir Panjang will be completely self-sufficient in its energy use and will have more than enough to spare.

After the first phase of construction was completed, the Poh Ern Shih Temple at Chwee Chian Hill generated 15MW of solar energy last year - enough to power the temple daily, though not during festivities when additional lights and fans are switched on.

In December, the installation of an additional 390 sq m of solar panels - on both the temple's pagoda and roof of its main prayer hall - will crank up its annual energy output to 65MW.

'By that time, we will be totally self-sufficient, in fact, we will have more than we need,' said Mr Lee Boon Siong, 70, the temple's president. Excess energy generated by the temple will be routed back to the neighbourhood's power grid for public use.

The $23 million upgrade of the temple was funded by donations. Mr Lee said the temple would recover its investment in about 15 years through savings on electricity bills.

The new construction also takes into account the needs of its devotees, more than 80 per cent of whom are more than 60 years old. Replacing the many steps, a new sloped walkway with handrails now leads from the entrance to the prayer hall.

YEN FENG