A small island off the north-east coast of Singapore called Pulau Ubin could be powered by clean energy in the next one to two years.
The Energy Market Authority has called for companies to propose plans for an intelligent microgrid on the rustic island, starting with the jetty area.
The expression-of-interest call came after a year-long feasibility study which examined the island’s power needs, suitable types of renewable energy, and protecting its natural environment.
An intelligent microgrid is a power grid that combines different types of power, and uses information technology to keep power supply reliable even when sun and wind are intermittent.
Solar photovoltaic (converting sunlight into chemical energy) and thermal (using the sun’s heat) technologies, wind power, and biofuels are among the renewable energy types that might be used at Ubin.
“The whole purpose of the project is really to supply electricity to the community on the island, as well as to testbed clean energy technologies there,” said Mr David Tan, deputy chief executive of the EMA’s energy planning and development division.
If the Ubin microgrid project succeeds, aspects of it could be applied to the main power grid here, he said. The energy authority would fund part of the multi-million dollar project, and the rest would come from companies that operated and used the test-bed, he added.
He did not say exactly how much investment would go into the project, as the expression-of-interest call opens on Friday. It will close in about a month.
Currently, Pulau Ubin’s 100 inhabitants, small businesses and training camps like Outward Bound Singapore get their power from diesel generators. They consume about 2,500 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.
They do not draw energy from the national power grid, as it is too expensive to lay cables from mainland Singapore for such a low demand.
Pulau Ubin bicycle shop owner Koh Bee Choo, 40, said she was open to the idea. Miss Koh, who has run Comfort Bicycle Rental for 15 years, said she spent about $700 on diesel and generator maintenance each month.
The EMA’s Mr Tan said the clean energy would be “at least cost-competitive for residents”, though companies could opt to keep using their diesel generators.
He added that the authority would work with interested companies to avoid damaging Pulau Ubin’s environment - such as its mangroves and intertidal coastal flats - while developing the microgrid, but no specific guidelines were in place yet.
The clean energy industry, too, welcomed the idea of an intelligent microgrid test-bed.
“Different clean energy technologies are available, but the thing is, when you integrate them, what happens? So you need a smart grid to manage and organise them,” said Mr Edwin Khew, chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, a group of renewable-energy, carbon-trading, energy-efficiency and related companies.
If the Ubin microgrid was successful, he said, it could be applied to villages and communities in the region.
