Two new green power plants on Jurong Island

Straits Times 21 Oct 10;

JURONG Island, the nerve centre of Singapore's petrochemical industry, was given a greener sheen yesterday with the opening of two new power plants that burn fuel more cleanly.

The $800 million co-generation plants built by energy giant PowerSeraya are able to burn natural gas more efficiently compared with older plants.

They are also able to generate about 130 tonnes of steam every hour, which is then sold as thermal energy to oil companies operating in the area.

In all, there are now four such plants in Singapore built by PowerSeraya. They are able to shave carbon dioxide emissions by 10 per cent.

The two new plants were officially opened yesterday in a ceremony witnessed by Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim.

PowerSeraya is one of the largest electricity-generating firms here, supplying up to 30 per cent of Singapore's energy needs. In total, about 1,500MW of electricity are generated by PowerSeraya's 14 power plants operating here.

Speaking yesterday, PowerSeraya chief executive John Ng said the new plants will boost the competitiveness of the industry in Singapore at a time when others are going green.

Under the Singapore Green Plan 2012, the Government has set a goal to improve the Republic's air quality over the next few years as a means to reduce its overall carbon emissions by 2030.

The petrochemical industry, which is one of the heaviest polluting here, has been targeted to improve the efficiency of fuel consumption in its power generation plants, as well as reduce the amount of harmful carbon emissions released into the atmosphere from such plants.

Speaking to an audience of industry players yesterday, PowerSeraya chairman Francis Yeoh pointed out the need to harness the limited supply of fuel here more efficiently, so as to secure the energy security of future generations.

This challenge comes at a time when cities eager to grow bigger and faster are driving up energy demands in the region. Studies show, for example, that energy demand in South-east Asia is expected to triple over the next 10 years.

AMRESH GUNASINGHAM

$800m facility powers up
Natural gas-fired plant produces electricity and steam simultaneously
Esther Ng Today Online 21 Oct 10;

SINGAPORE - The Republic's energy sector is getting a boost from a new $800 million power plant.

Officially opened yesterday, PowerSeraya's new natural gas-fired facility is capable of producing electricity and steam simultaneously - up to 600 tonnes per hour - for more than 95 petrochemical companies on Jurong Island.

Said PowerSeraya chief executive officer John Ng: "It reduces the need for them to produce their own steam and it allows them to reduce their business capital and operating costs."

With its new plant, PowerSeraya now has the largest co-generation capacity here - close to 1,500 megawatts.

PowerSeraya's new co-generation plant is 75 per cent more thermal efficient than its combined cycle plants as it harnesses waste heat produced from the electricity-generation process.

It also makes use of water from its seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to produce up to 600 tonnes per hour of high-pressure steam.

This can then be sold immediately to its industrial customers.

This new plant is expected to reduce the energy company's overall carbon emissions by 10 per cent.

PowerSeraya is in the business of producing, wholesaling, trading and retailing energy, with a primary focus on electricity .

It supplies about 30 per cent of the country's energy needs. ESTHER NG

Singapore's energy sector gets boost from S$800m plant
Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid Channel NewsAsia 20 Oct 10;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's energy sector is getting a boost from a new S$800 million power plant.

The natural gas-fired facility located on Jurong Island, owned by energy company PowerSeraya, is expected to spur on the nationwide drive to lower Singapore's carbon footprint.

This year's World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Living Planet Report 2010 placed Singapore's ecological footprint per person at 5.34 global hectares.

Despite that, the country has managed to reduce its carbon intensity by 25% from 1990 levels. And it has achieved this ahead of the target date of 2012 set out under the Singapore Green Plan 2012.

The strategy is to be more energy-efficient, something PowerSeraya wants to achieve with the new natural gas co-generation plant.

At the Co-Generation Combined Cycle Plant, other than providing electricity, waste heat is used to generate steam and then supplied to petrochemical companies on the island.

The 800-megawatt plant replaces three oil-fired steam units, providing cleaner energy.

It is expected to reduce the company's overall carbon footprint by a further 10 per cent.

PowerSeraya's CEO, John Ng, said: "In Singapore, we have transformed quite a fair bit of our plants from oil-fired to gas-fired, and gas-fired plants are essentially (producing) lower carbon footprint and much better than the oil-fired plants. If you talk about percentage, a gas-fired plant is typically about 40% better in terms of emissions than the oil-fired plant. So while we convert some of our oil-fired plants to gas-fired plants, it also means that the carbon footprint will reduce significantly as well."

"That's the direction we want to go.....our power-generation sector will use gas and use it in an efficient manner. So we are very happy with this latest development done by the private sector," said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.

PowerSeraya says the establishment of the new plant will make Jurong Island more economically competitive.

It is also a step closer to the Jurong Island 2.0 initiative which seeks to optimise the use of valuable energy resources and strengthen Singapore's position as a leading energy hub.

The new plant will also reduce the need for companies on the island to produce their own steam, allowing them to lower their costs.

- CNA/fa/ir