The Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC), one of the largest experimental power grid facilities in the world, was officially opened on Tuesday morning.
Located on Jurong Island, the S$38 million venture is the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) centre for energy research.
The facility is slated to pave the way for cutting-edge research to develop future energy technologies which will be eventually commercialised.
At the opening, a collaboration was inked with the HDB to improve integration of renewable energy into housing estates.
“What they will try to do is look at all kinds of energy they can harvest - be it wind, solar or battery. And they will see how we can optimise this in the grid,” said Lau Joo Ming, Managing Director of HDB Building Research Institute.
EPGC also signed MOUs with two international companies - National Instruments and Meidensha Corporation Japan.
The collaboration with US-based National Instruments will involve the development of advanced measurement and control technologies for smart grids.
Meidensha, one of the leaders in Japan’s heavy electric industry, is looking to develop high-efficiency control technology for advanced medium voltage inverters, used in industrial pumps and fans.
EPGC also entered a research collaboration agreement with SP PowerGrid. The two parties will study how to improve the reliability of its system.
The facility will allow for novel energy technologies to be experimented in a safe environment - before taking them “live” to real electrical networks.
Experimental Power Grid Centre’s programme director, Associate Professor Ashwin Khambadkone said: “Second feature is the renewable energy sources. Sun is not in your control; wind is not in your control; how are you going to estimate how much solar energy? If it changes suddenly, what is the impact on the grid? So in order to do research and to do a controlled experiment you need to try out these scenarios. The emulators can help you programme.”
The centre has a capacity of one megawatt, which is enough to power 500 households. It is also designed to be customisable, so various power networks can be configured.
And it’s features like these that will help researchers develop smart grids, which are slated to pave the way for a competitive energy market.
