HDB to test solar technology in 6 precincts [News]

By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia, 7 Nov 2011.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be testing a more energy- and cost-efficient solar technology in six precincts islandwide next year.

Using Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin-film technology, the project is expected to cost S$4 million.

The solar panels will be installed in 20 to 25 HDB blocks, and collectively generate 1 MWp (megawatt peak) of electricity, enough to provide for 200 four-room flats.

Without direct sunlight, many traditional solar panels are unable to generate electricity efficiently. CIGS technology, which is more sensitive to light, may be the solution to erratic sun patterns. Read more

A*STAR’s Experimental Power Grid Centre to spur R&D collaborations for future energy and smart grid solutions [Press Releases]

1. Singapore, 1 November 2011. The Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC), one of the largest experimental power grid facilities in the world was officially opened in Singapore, today, by Mr. S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry.

2. Located on Jurong Island, EPGC, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR’s) centre for energy research is established to support Singapore’s goal toward developing a smart energy economy. The facility will pave the way for cutting-edge research and research collaborations with local and international partners to develop future energy technologies in areas of electrical power networks and energy distribution and renewable energy resources, for eventual commercialisation. Read more

Rising electricity prices take their toll on town councils [News]

By Ong Dai Lin and Ng Jing Yng, Today, 21 Sep 2011.

Town councils around the island are feeling the heat of rising electricity prices: The Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council, for instance, has seen its utility bill balloon to S$8.2 million in the last financial year, an increase of almost 40 per cent over the last five years.

But, even as town councils brainstorm ways – with at least one seeking suggestions from residents – to manage growing bills, town council chairmen Today spoke to reassured that, at this point, there was no need to consider raising residents’ service and conservancy charges (S&CC).

Mr Michael Palmer, who chairs the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, said the town council’s utility bill rose from S$15.76 million in FY2007/2008 to S$19.18 million in the last financial year. Read more

Sunseap bags HDB’s tender award to produce 2-MW solar power for Punggol eco-town [Press Releases]

Solar manufacturer and leasing services provider, Sunseap Group, today announced that its subsidiary, Sunseap Enterprises, has won the Housing Development Board’s (HDB) solar leasing tender contract to install and supply 2 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) rooftop solar system in Punggol eco-town. The lease option is believed to be the first-ever of its kind in Singapore and in the region. The program helps building owners stay competitive while doing the right thing for the environment.

A signing ceremony was held on 15 September 2011 at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh between Sunseap Enterprises and the statutory board. The tender is part of HDB’s Solar Capability Building Programme, supported by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development. The generated electricity from the solar panel will be used by Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council to power lights in common areas, lifts and pumps, among other services. Read more

HDB rooftops as farmland? [News]

By Yang Razali Kassim, The Straits Times, 24 Aug 11.

Food security is an emerging global concern. Certain realities define food security planning for Singapore: It is not an agricultural country, has not much land to grow its own food, and is almost totally dependent on food imports.

As such, Singapore may be viewed as being just a passive food importer – perpetually subject to the vagaries of external forces when it comes to feeding its own people.

Such a reading, however, could change.

There are indications of a fundamental rethink in Singapore’s food security strategy. Indeed, a mental map of a multi- pronged strategy, spearheaded by research and development, is emerging on Singapore’s food security front that could turn old limitations into new strengths. Read more

Punggol eco-town to test-bed energy solutions for public housing [News]

By Dylan Loh, Channel NewsAsia, 1 Aug 2011.

One block of public housing in Singapore’s Punggol eco-town will be a test-bed for environmentally-friendly energy solutions.

The project is a collaboration between Japanese electronics giant Panasonic and government agencies – the Housing and Development Board, the Economic Development Board and the Energy Market Authority.

It aims to get 10 households in the block of HDB flats to participate and may include more homes later.

An integrated energy system will help families reduce their carbon footprint and utilities bill.

Energy-producing solar panels will be fitted on the block of flats and these will power lifts and lighting during the day. Read more

Panasonic to commence Asia’s first Total Energy Solutions test-bed project for public housing in Singapore [Press Releases]

1 August 2011, Singapore – Panasonic, in partnership with the Housing & Development Board (HDB), Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), announced the commencement of a first-of-its-kind test-bed of total energy solutions in Singapore. This test-bed project will see Panasonic utilise and integrate its energy creation, storage and saving solutions at an existing public residential building to realise greener lifestyle. The project will commence this year and will run till 2013. The test will be conducted at the Punggol Eco Town, which has been marked as one of the key “living labs” for urban sustainability solutions in Singapore.

Mr. Fumio Ohtsubo, President of Panasonic Corporation commented at the event, “Singapore, with its excellent infrastructure and talent base, is an ideal living-lab to test-bed our energy solutions. I expect this collaboration to be a pioneer endeavour to contribute towards a greener lifestyle in Singapore and the region with our technology”. Read more

HDB in big solar energy drive [News]

Green energy in public housing is getting a boost, as the Housing Board wants to double the current capacity by launching its largest-ever single solar panel scheme.

In a tender that closed this month, the HDB called for a company to own and operate panels in the eco-town of Punggol, offering to buy the electricity produced for 20 years.

The panels, or sheets, will be put up on 85 blocks and can produce 2 MWp (megawatt peak) of energy when the sun is fully out. Such an amount of energy can meet the power needs of five four-room HDB flats for a month.

But the electricity produced will not be for home use. Rather, it will be used to power lights in common areas, lifts and pumps, among other things.

The tender is part of the HDB’s $31 million, five-year scheme to test-bed solar energy in 30 precincts. Read more

LEDs to Save Town Councils $5M a Year [News]

It’s a bright idea – install LED lights in the common areas of 2,000 Housing Board blocks islandwide and help town councils save $5 million a year.

Better still, the switch to this energy-efficient option may also yield about $250,000 worth of carbon credits a year for the next 10 years.

This is what 10 town councils here will be doing this year – registering their energy-efficient efforts with the United Nations (UN), in what will be Singapore’s first public-sector carbon-credit project.

Under the UN’s Kyoto Protocol, certain countries, including Singapore, are allowed to register for carbon credits, which they can sell for money in the carbon market. Read more

HDB: Two Steps Ahead Towards Sustainable Public Housing In Singapore

As the public housing authority that houses over 80% of Singapore’s population, HDB has a key role to play in supporting Singapore’s commitment to sustainable development. Today, HDB made further progress with two key initiatives:

a) Procurement of 1MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) panels worth about $2.3 million from the Renewable Energy Corporation (REC). This is by far the single largest solar panel procurement in Singapore to date. The solar panels will be implemented at six HDB precincts covering about 3,000 residential units; and

b) Collaboration with Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM) to develop a modeling tool to quantify and formulate a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) on sustainability environmental targets in developing Punggol as an Eco-Town for the tropics. This will enable a more effective design for sustainability, and support HDB’s planning efforts to enhance resource efficiency and livability within Punggol Eco-Town. Read more