Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Clean and Renewable Energy

The inconvenient truth about climate change has begun to set in, however for those with foresight this has been a driver for the development of clean and renewable energy technologies. With the growth in international outcry on the adverse impact of global warming, clean energy is a major consideration in the energy landscape of the future. Although a small country and alternative energy disadvantaged, Singapore still has a responsibility to environmental sustainability, furthermore Singapore's interests in clean and sustainable energy solutions are also driven by the need for energy security, i.e., less dependence on traditional fossil fuel sources. To this end, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) had recently published a Sustainable Singapore Blueprint. Among the strategies outlined included achieving greater energy efficiency and diversification, where we plan to reduce our energy intensity (per dollar GDP) by 35% from 2005 levels by 2030. However, Singapore is also cognizant that these efforts should not diminish energy competitiveness to ensure there is sustainable economic growth for the Nation.

Clean energy causes little or no harm to the environment, such as hydrogen fuel cell. As for renewable energy, it is energy generated by natural resources, such as solar, biofuels, wind, tidal, hydro and geothermal. From all these available options, solar photovoltaic (PV) and biofuels present the best opportunities for Singapore. The country's average wind speeds are too low for the economical use of large wind turbines. Although the technology for micro-wind turbines is improving quickly to help to harness lower wind speeds, wind energy options remain weak. Wave, tidal, and ocean thermal have limited application as much of our sea space is used for ports, anchorage and shipping lanes. Singapore's geography also does not present opportunities to harness renewable energy from hydro or geothermal technologies.