Powering the transition to clean energy

SINGAPORE-BASED G8 is helping to accelerate the world's low-carbon transition by developing renewable energy projects powered by innovative offshore wind and floating solar technologies.

As one of Asia's leading offshore renewable energy companies, G8 utilises its expertise in subsea cable and engineering technologies to develop scalable solutions that efficiently connect large offshore wind turbines and floating solar systems to land. The firm is able to do this through subsea cables that are buried and protected under the seabed. Such offshore based systems are able to achieve the "highest contribution" of renewable energy output, according to Gerald Tan, Founder & Managing Director at G8.

"Renewable energy had always been a core focus industry since our founding in 2015. Due to climate change and the importance of making our future generations' energy sustainable, our company is fully committed to the mission of accelerating large-scale renewable energy projects and developing the technology to enable the reduction of carbon emissions from power plants quickly. This is our part to support Singapore's Green Plan 2030 and the COP26 global agenda to fight climate change," says Mr Tan.

He adds: "Climate change and the uncertainty of our energy sources from fossil fuels is a critical matter now and the sooner we adopt a renewable energy infrastructure, the better it is for businesses and nations to meet their ESG targets for long-term energy security and environmental sustainability."

A global strategy

Reflecting its global outlook, most of G8's operations and projects are overseas. In 2017, it was the first foreign company to construct subsea power infrastructure that connect 60 megawatt (MW) wind turbine systems in South Korea. Through this groundbreaking project, the company gained an excellent reputation with the Korean power authority (KEPCO), and it has since established a subsidiary, G8 Renewable Energy Korea, in Seoul to support the group's operations there.

Today, G8's Korean arm is involved with over 3 gigawatts (GW) of wind and floating solar projects across the country. In January this year, for instance, it announced a deal to develop a 1.5GW wind farm in South Korea; one of the largest offshore windfarm projects in Asia utilising its next-generation energy storage technologies. Apart from South Korea, the company also has representatives in Indonesia and Malaysia.

G8 has set its sights beyond the region and recently set up a joint venture in West Africa to construct a 65MW floating solar plant on a hydro dam for the main power utility. This project promises to be Africa's largest and most advanced floating solar system, and will help to address the growing energy needs of the region. It is designed to ensure efficient power transfer between solar and hydropower.

Closer to home, G8 has successfully completed a landmark floating solar system and is presently involved in several iconic renewable energy projects. For instance, the company is a sustainability partner with the Singapore Discovery Center, a tourist attraction that offers visitors a multi-sensory learning experience about Singapore's history and aspirations.

In this role, G8 is designing the world's first solar-powered water stage with curved solar photovoltaic panels. Its unique design and technology was overseen and endorsed by Dr Liu Thai Ker, Chairman of the Centre for Liveable Cities and former master planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore.

Overcoming challenges

G8 is relying on its culture of technology innovation and its comprehensive research and development (R&D) capabilities to craft leading-edge solutions to overcome renewable energy challenges.

In cities like Singapore and other developed urban areas, we face the problem of finding available land and space to build a large solar or wind power plant. Hence, the company is focused on exploring opportunities for developing renewable energy systems on reservoirs and untapped water spaces around the shoreline.

One of the company's proprietary technology MTB (Modular Tractive Buoyancy System) is an advanced construction system patented by G8 that enables the building of next generation floating and wind systems more efficiently. G8 has developed complete turnkey solutions like Island Power Systems (IPS) and GPM (Green Power Manager) to offer power utilities and business owners with cost-effective solutions to generating renewable energy, which has now garnered strong interest globally.

"We keep our R&D team busy developing the next-generation technologies and hopefully this will lead to many more innovations to come from G8," reveals Mr Tan.

Looking ahead, the company is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ exchange in 2023. Says Mr Tan: "This will initiate our global growth plan to lead the industry to develop large-scale renewable energy systems around the world. A significant number of resources will be channeled towards our R&D efforts to improve the efficiency and capabilities of our hybrid wind and solar technologies."

Reflecting its growing prominence, G8 was one of the top winners at last year's Emerging Enterprise Awards - which is jointly organised by The Business Times and OCBC for showing significant and sustainable growth despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.