Singapore study on alternative energy

Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 10 Dec 09;

COPENHAGEN: Singapore has done a study that can help identify the alternative energy potential of countries around the world.

The findings of the study, believed to be the first of its kind, were presented to delegates at a side event at the climate conference here on Tuesday.

Energy Studies Institute research fellow Felicia Shaw told the delegates that huge variations in alternative energy potential were found across countries by the study, which focused on solar, wind and hydroelectric power, and geothermal resources. Physical constraints, such as land size, also limit a country's potential.

Singapore is a case in point. Despite being located in the tropical sunbelt area, which can yield a high 35,000 kW of energy per sq km, it is unable to harness solar energy on a large scale because of its size.

The study was conducted in the past year in partnership with the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) at the National University of Singapore.

TMSI research fellow Durairaju Kumaran Raju said a geographic information system (GIS) software was used to store and analyse various sources of data such as geographical and natural physical information fed into it.

The maps produced by the GIS software allowed researchers to spot regions with high or low potential for developing sources of renewable energy, for example, geothermal power.

This knowledge will allow investors to put their money in the right places.

The findings from such a study also helped to identify countries unlikely to be able to do much to curb greenhouse gas emissions by converting to renewable sources of energy.

Ms Shaw said that the motivation behind the Singapore study was the rapidly changing energy landscape.

'The threat of easy oil running out, the impact of climate change, and growing concerns of energy security have led to an urgent call for new energy policies and interventions,' she said.

She noted that the market share of renewable energy sources was growing in tandem with increasing investment, even amid the downturn. Last year, alternative energy capacity grew by 15 to 30 per cent over the previous year. But in terms of absolute capacity, alternative energy sources still lagged far behind fossil fuels, which contribute to more than 80 per cent of the world's energy needs.

'This is why we need to put more resources into looking at alternative energy potential and consider a country's ability to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel,' said Ms Shaw, who is also a Ministry of Trade and Industry official.

Singapore invested in this study also because it had 'spent most of its short history pondering resource scarcity', she added.