59-05-032 Proceeding

38 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress • Despitemedia excitement over solar PV, does the country have sufficient land (or water) area for solar PV to make a dent? • While wind companies will always market wind systems, are these systems appropriate for the wind speeds in regions on the country? • What about the availability of geothermal or hydropower resources (and if the latter), what are the environmental impacts of large dams? Or are there regions for micro-hydro systems? And so on for the different sources of alternative energy. These baseline assessments are to be followed by process assessment on whether such systems are best grid-isolated or should they be grid-integrated to enhance grid stability and reliability, perhaps near the ends of transmission and distribution networks. Penetration of renewable energy must be understood in this ‘system of systems’ concept. And the relevant power authorities need to develop umbrella policies to provide incentives for both investors and end- users, while simultaneously phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and developing a ‘price’ to account for environmental externalities, etc. Case Study: Singapore Singapore as a mega city-state is highly dependent on energy imports, resulting in major energy security concerns. 93.5%of electricity generated is fromnatural gas, and 89%of total natural gas imports (2013) come through four pipelines fromMalaysia and Indonesia (SES, 2014). 5 Due to her lack of natural resources, such as hydro andwind, Singapore lacks these options to diversify her energy sources domestically. Concentrated solar is not viable given that it lacks direct beamradiation (because of hazy skies and persistent cloud cover.) Hence, solar PV is being considered, but, given its limited land area, even if all available land surfaces and roofs are covered with PV panels, solar PVwould only contribute, practically only 110TWh in 2050 (about 6% of total electricity demand under baseline scenario) (SERIS, 2013). Therefore, Singapore seeks to counter rising energy prices and unpredictable supply disruptions by increasing EE and using the energy savings to address demand increase. Industry sector contributes to around a quarter of Singapore GDP (CIA, 2014), and is the largest electricity consuming sector, accounting for 42% of overall consumption. Due to the presence of many energy intensive industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals & biotech, and electronics, etc., Singapore has a relatively high energy intensity, calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP (Figure 4), compared to other Asian developed economies. A lower energy intensity, indicating a more advanced stage of economic development, technology and higher EE, should be one of Singapore’s economic energy goals. Furthermore, Singapore does not yet have a legally binding carbon reduction target nor has the government unveiled a detailed emissions mitigation plan. Therefore, energy security and economic considerations remain the primary drivers for implementing EE measures. 5 Singapore is now working on LNG to provide more assurance of gas supply (SES, 2014)