New systems help old buildings save energy [News]

By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 9 Jan 2012.

At a corner of Golden Mile Tower is a dim, but airy room, filled with whirring equipment, the shiny new pumps and chillers looking bright against the dusty walls.

Though the office-and-retail block on Beach Road is four decades old, it had all this installed last year, along with a cooling tower and a panel to monitor the performance of the system.

The hardware, fitted in to conserve energy, has done its job.

The block’s power bills have been cut by $30,000 a month, from $100,000.

The owners of older buildings such as this one and People’s Park Complex are sinking money into such systems ahead of energy-related laws that may be passed this year. Read more

Energy efficiency in region found wanting [News]

By The Business Times, 4 Nov 2011.

South-East Asia could save between US$15 billion and US$43 billion a year on energy by 2020 if there is widespread adoption of energy-efficient technologies. However, these savings can only come about if governments legislate firmer energy efficient policies and if there is greater understanding of the financing for these technologies.

At the moment, the large unrealised market potential in energy efficiency (EE) points towards ‘market failure’, said Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The management consultancy, along with the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, conducted interviews with multinational end-users, research institutes and players from the EE sector in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Read more

Singapore’s strategies to meet its energy challenge amid an uncertain global energy future

Singapore is taking steps to address its energy challenge by diversifying energy mix, managing energy demand, and encouraging innovative technologies, amid an uncertain global energy future.

During his Opening Address at the Singapore Energy Lecture, which kicks off the annual Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2011, Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, shares Singapore’s three strategies in addressing its energy challenge, given its over dependence on energy imports and the need to secure reliable and affordable energy supplies.

Diversify Energy Supply

Mr Iswaran shared that the key thrust of Singapore’s energy strategy is the diversification of its energy supplies through Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and electricity imports. Singapore will also continue to explore other options like solar energy. Read more

Raffles Institution engage NEC to deploy real-time energy monitoring solution campus-wide [Press Releases]

Raffles Institution (RI) announced today that it has engaged NEC Asia Pacific (NEC APAC), a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan), to deploy real-time energy monitoring solution throughout its entire campus, as part of its bigger plan to improve energy efficiency and to achieve cost savings.

This initiative is part of RI’s continuous efforts towards creating a more environmentally-friendly campus. In August this year, RI was named the first recipient of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark GoldPlus Award [1], the second highest Green Mark rating under the BCA Green Mark for Existing Schools, which places stronger emphasis on raising the awareness among students and educating our future generation on the importance of environmental sustainability and conservation. Read more

Can S’pore buildings go “green” by 2030? [News]

By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia, 22 Oct 2011.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the goal of “greening” 80 per cent of Singapore’s buildings by 2030 is an “ambitious target”.

Most buildings were constructed before new energy efficiency guidelines kicked in.

So far, about 12 per cent of existing floor areas had been “greened” and most of this took place in new buildings.

But BCA said the situation is improving, and it is working with existing building owners to recognise the benefits of being energy efficient.

In the National Development Ministry’s addendum to the President’s address, Mr Khaw Boon Wan pledged to step up efforts in “greening” buildings to make them more energy efficient and eco-friendly. Read more

National Climate Change Secretariat – Addendum to the President’s Address [Press Releases]

Challenge of Climate Change

1. Climate change is a major challenge for all countries, including Singapore. As an island state, we must stand ready to deal with the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels. As a responsible member of the global community, we will also play our part to lower carbon emissions. We must work to achieve these goals while safeguarding our standard of living and our economic competitiveness.

Rising to the Challenge

2. We will enhance our understanding and expertise in climate science, and build up Singapore’s resilience and adaptability to climate change in key areas such as coastal protection, water resources and drainage, biodiversity, public health as well as urban infrastructure.

3. We will reduce our carbon emissions in two main ways. First, greater use of less carbon intensive fuels. Second, improved energy conservation and efficiency. This will require us to promote energy efficient design, equipment and processes in industries, transport, buildings and homes. Read more

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources – Addendum to the President’s Address [Press Releases]

A sustainable and clean Singapore

1 Our careful environmental stewardship over the years has enabled us to build a high quality environment in Singapore for people to live, work and play in. It has been a source of competitive advantage.

2 Looking ahead, to improve our resilience and responsiveness to a changing landscape, we will enhance resource efficiency, improve infrastructure, strengthen capabilities, elevate standards and empower the community.

(I) Enhancing resource efficiency

3 It is a strategic imperative that we use energy, water and materials more efficiently to both reduce pollution and bolster Singapore’s economic resilience.

4 Energy efficiency is one of our key strategies to achieve environmental sustainability, energy security and economic competitiveness. For the industry sector, the Ministry will implement the Energy Conservation Act in 2013. Large energy users will be required to formulate energy efficiency improvement plans, appoint energy managers and to submit energy consumption data. Read more

Singapore walks away with 8 ASEAN Energy Awards [Press Releases]

A total of eight Singapore organisations have received awards at the 2011 ASEAN Energy Awards. This is the largest number bagged by Singapore since the Awards started in 2000. The Awards recognise efforts by innovative companies in ASEAN who promote and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.

The winners are:

ASEAN Energy Awards – Energy Efficiency Competition (New & Existing Category)

(i) City Square Mall (1st runner-up)
This is the first mall in Singapore to be awarded the Building & Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum Award, and is designed with state-of-the-art green building features. To date, the mall has achieved electricity savings of more than 30 percent compared to similar buildings. Read more

Singapore wins big at energy awards [News]

By Esther Ng, Today, 21 Sep 2011.

For their efforts to be environmentally sustainable, eight organisations received the ASEAN Energy Awards, making it the largest number bagged by Singapore since the Awards started in 2000.

The Galen, an eight-year-old building in Singapore Science Park II, won in the Retrofitted Category, while the 30-year-old Ministry of Manpower (MOM) building emerged first runner-up.

Business space solutions provider, Ascendas, which owns The Galen, spent S$3.5 million replacing its air-cooled chillers with four 600 refrigeration ton water-cooled centrifugal chiller plants with an efficiency of 0.56 kilowatts per refrigeration ton.

As a result, the building now only generates 1,300 tons of carbon emission annually, from 4,000 tons before retrofitting. Read more

SMEs can do bit for energy conservation, too

This article is contributed by Chua Wen Hao, Energy Analyst with the Energy and the Environment Division, Energy Studies Institute.

Energy efficiency has been earmarked as an integral part of Singapore’s energy policy. Efficiency gains are acknowledged to be one of the quickest and most cost-effective tools to achieve various policy goals, such as improving energy security, enhancing economic competitiveness or promoting environmental sustainability. To this end, the Singapore government has announced the implementation of the Energy Conservation Act, which will introduce minimum energy management standards for large industrial energy users from 2013.

The industrial sector accounts for almost 60 percent of Singapore’s total energy consumption. As the Act applies to just companies which consume more than 15 gigawatt-hours per year, only those operating on a large scale–generally MNCs (multinational corporations)–will be affected. However, SMEs should and can be doing their bit to save energy and consume energy more efficiently. The European Union, notably France and the UK, has such policies for its SMEs, and in the US, Industrial Assessment Centres have been established with the aim of improving SME energy management. Read more

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