SolarQuarter ASEAN magazine interviewed Mr.Tan who is the Vice President, Energy Transition and Integrated Solutions, Sembcorp Industries. He spoke about how the RE sector has grown in the last decade. He also threw light on energy storage & transition topics along with the technologies and trends that Sembcorp has embarked on for the solar sector in Singapore.
How has the renewable energy market changed in the last decade? How has this impacted Sembcorp in Singapore?
Renewable energy capacity across the world has increased tremendously over the past
decade, with solar leading the way. As an international power producer and energy player, we also recognise the opportunity to support economies in which we operate as they transition towards low-carbon energy systems – this includes countries like Singapore. Developing these solar energy solutions is one way of how we are growing our renewable energy portfolio here. We started out with just under four megawatt-peak of rooftop solar capacity and grown our portfolio to about 300MWp to date, exploring different technologies including floating solar systems and solar land projects in Singapore, all within a short span of time. We are also witnessing more companies
wanting to minimise or eradicate their carbon footprint and we are committed to meeting the growing need for such green energy.
Can you tell us more about energy storage systems and the feasibility for its deployment in Singapore?
Intermittency is still one of the major criticisms of solar power, but one possible way to counter this and enhance overall stability and resilience of the grid lies in energy storage solutions. Energy storage is a critically important technology that is gaining momentum globally and I believe will be a game changer especially in the clean energy space for
Singapore.
Sembcorp has collaborated with the Energy Market Authority as part of a pilot programme to facilitate the deployment of energy storage systems in the country. We have invested in such systems overseas in the UK and are now looking to apply the technology at home in Singapore, where we are only of the largest solar power players. Energy storage solutions can also work synergistically with Sembcorp’s other power
generation assets including conventional gas-fired generation to create more value too.
What are your thoughts on Singapore’s latest solar target of atleast 2 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2030?
In Singapore, solar energy is the most viable renewable energy resource and there is still a lot of room for its expansion locally. As part of the most recent launch of The Singapore Green Plan 2030, the call for use of cleaner energy and to increase energy efficiency to lower carbon footprint reiterates the country’s push towards the adoption of solar energy. I believe the new target is achievable as there are still many more buildings that we can build solar energy systems on. In addition, Singapore vertical space can also be leveraged to grow solar power and if such technology proves fruitful , we can definitely achieve even more.
Read the full interview here: https://solarquarter.com/2021/04/27/solarquarter-asean-magazine-jan-2021-issue/
