A plan to supply Pulau Ubin with clean, reliable and more affordable electricity has moved one step closer to reality.
The Government has selected three plots of land on the island north-east of Singapore which may be suitable for green technologies such as micro-wind turbines and solar panels.
It plans to eventually invite companies to test their clean and renewable energy solutions on those land plots.
For now, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) wants to hire consultants to study the land plots and recommend possible types of clean and renewable technologies for them.
The consultants can also propose alternate sites.
In a call for proposals this month, the EMA said the consultants’ suggestions should be “sensitive” to the areas’ biodiversity and aligned with the island’s “rustic and natural character”.
The study will also include recommending feasible business models for the clean and renewable energy technologies. The deadline for proposals is October 23.
The nine-month study is part of the Government’s plan to supply clean, reliable and cost-competitive electricity to residents and businesses on Pulau Ubin, which is currently used for activities such as fishing, cycling and kayaking.
The 100 or so islanders currently rely on their own generators as the cost of laying cables from the mainland is too high.
Last year, the EMA announced a local consortium will build an electricity micro-grid at Pulau Ubin’s jetty area to test solar power and biodiesel energy technology.
Under the contract, the consortium will provide electricity at a price of not more than 80 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh), lower than the rate of $1 or more per kwh for diesel generators.
The green technologies deployed on the chosen plots of land will be hooked up to the micro-grid, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
When the whole project is up and running, the Government will assess whether it can reliably supply electricity from a micro-grid using intermittent renewable energy resources.
This will improve Singapore’s smart-grid design capabilities and management of intermittent renewable energy sources, preparing it for “a future when renewable resources become more significant in our energy system”, said the EMA in its tender document.
