Grace Chua Straits Times 11 Oct 13;
ELECTRICITY generation on part of Singapore's rustic Pulau Ubin island has just been upgraded to a more environmentally friendly system.
Thirty businesses and residents there have signed up to tap solar and bio-diesel energy from a micro-grid, in place of the diesel generators they used before. It will supply power to sites near the Ubin jetty and is a test project carried out by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and a consortium of companies.
The total project cost is $10 million over 10 years, which is being co-funded by the EMA and the consortium of Daily Life Renewable Energy and OKH Holdings.
Mr S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, was guest of honour at its launch ceremony yesterday.
Besides providing cleaner, cheaper energy for Ubin residents and businesses, he said, energy-storage technologies tested on the micro-grid could in future help to boost Singapore's national grid.
He added:"This will enable Singapore to adopt new and renewable energy technologies as and when they become commercially viable."
Residents and businesses pay 80 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for electricity from the micro-grid, compared with $1.20 per kwh for diesel.
Provision shop and seafood restaurant owner Tan Chee Kiang, 65, said he would use grid electricity for some of his refrigerated drink cases and chillers, but will wait to see if the supply is stable before switching over from diesel completely. He pays up to $2,000 a month for diesel.
At the red, wood-panelled Tua Pek Kong Taoist temple nearby, its committee member Doreen Lim, 50, said diesel generators are hard to maintain and blackouts occur several times a year.
She said that with a steady electricity supply, "after the rebuilding of the temple, we'll consider installing air-conditioning".
But some, like resident Tan Long Je, 70, said their homes are not yet connected to the long-awaited power grid. The EMA put this down to wiring challenges.
Plans for the grid were first announced in 2009.
The EMA said data would be collected and the micro-grid's performance tracked for several years. Currently, there are no plans to extend it to other parts of Ubin.
Biofuel-driven energy grid launched on Pulau Ubin
System built to test impact of renewable resources like solar energy on grid operations
Woo Sian Boon, Today Online, 10 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — About 30 residents and business operators on Pulau Ubin have signed up for electricity from the Energy Market Authority’s micro-grid test bed, which was built to test the impact of renewable energy sources like solar energy on grid operations.
Renewable and greener sources of energy can be unreliable as they are dependent on weather conditions.
Electricity from the micro-grid is harnessed from biodiesel — derived from used cooking oil — and solar energy, and is cheaper, cleaner and more reliable than the generators islanders currently tap on.
The planning and construction of the micro-grid was started two years ago by a local consortium comprising two companies, Daily Life Renewable Energy and OKH Holdings.
Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran witnessed the launch of the project on the island this morning.
“The learning points from the test-bed will help to enhance our ability to manage intermittent energy sources,” he said. “It will enable Singapore to maximise the amount of solar and other forms of renewable energy we can deploy when those technologies become commercially viable.
“This in turn will contribute to our long term goal of diversifying our energy mix and moving towards a sustainable energy future for Singapore.”
With the micro-grid’s completion, EMA will explore how other companies and research organisations could use it as a platform to develop energy-related technologies and solutions.
Residents, businesses on Pulau Ubin to get electricity from micro-grid
Olivia Siong, Channel NewsAsia, 10 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: About 30 residents and businesses on Pulau Ubin have signed up for electricity from a micro-grid being test-bedded on the island.
Launched on Thursday, the micro-grid will allow residents and businesses to enjoy cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity supply, as opposed to relying on diesel generators.
The micro-grid incorporates biodiesel and solar photovoltaic technology.
It is part of a test-bed by the Energy Market Authority to assess the impact of intermittent energy sources, such as solar, on grid operations.
Unlike conventional power generators which can provide a steady supply of electricity, solar energy is intermittent in nature and dependent on weather conditions.
Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran, who witnessed the launch, said the learning points from the test-bed will help to enhance Singapore's ability to manage intermittent energy sources.
He added this will also enable Singapore to maximize the amount of solar and other forms of renewable energy that can be deployed when such technologies become commercially viable.
Mr Iswaran also pointed out that this will in turn contribute to the long term goal of diversifying Singapore's energy mix and moving towards a sustainable energy future for Singapore.
Work on the micro-grid began two years ago, by a local consortium, comprising Daily Life Renewable Energy and OKH Holdings.
- CNA/fa
