The high-tech future of energy in Singapore

AS SINGAPORE seeks to grow its economy and enhance its quality of life, its energy consumption is bound to increase. This energy will be used for the same purposes - to light our homes, fuel our public transportation and power our businesses. But the energy of tomorrow will look far different from the energy of today. It will be more efficient, more sustainable, and "smarter".

Singapore's energy future is dependent on sourcing energy that is secure, affordable and clean. To do this successfully, the nation will need to increase the use of alternative energy sources, such as solar, in the energy mix. It will also need to use our existing energy sources more effectively and efficiently.

Singapore is already doing both. Solar, for example, is Singapore's most promising renewable energy source when it comes to electricity generation. It generates no emissions, requires no fuel imports, and taps something Singapore has in excess - the sun.

Yet widespread use of solar has been limited by our scarce amount of land and the challenge to manage intermittency. Its costs have also been prohibitive. This should change in the near future. DNV GL, one of the world's biggest providers of technical services for the renewable energy sector, recently conducted a study to show the impact of technology on solar's growth over the next 10 years. Called Technology Outlook 2025, it shows that the costs of solar photovoltaics (PV) will be reduced by up to 40 per cent in the next 10 years, thanks to more than 30 expected developments in solar energy.

By 2025, solar PV will be the cheapest form of electricity in many regions of the world. This is possible because solar power is technology-driven and the cost-curve of solar energy will continue to trend downwards. This trend will be amplified by the ongoing R&D efforts we are seeing in a range of solar-related technologies. Each new innovation resulting from these efforts will only continue to accelerate the already rapid uptake of solar energy use.

For example, DNV GL has already tapped drone technology for smarter operations of solar and wind farms in South-east Asia. We partnered with Singapore startup SwarmX to introduce a fully autonomous drone docking station as part of our smarter operations services bundle. We use the drone technology to help renewable energy providers monitor production and performance of a wind or solar asset, prevent problems from occurring, and act when a problem does arise. This technology-focused approach helps solar and wind operators save money, save time, and deploy their energy more effectively and efficiently - these are benefits that extend beyond just the operators.

CLEANTECH STRATEGIES

Solar energy is a clear beneficiary of technology and digitalisation improvements - but it is not the only one. The Singapore government has laid a clear path for the increased use of technology in all sectors and areas of life, including energy. Under the "Smart Nation" vision, the city will become an "effective cleantech hub" with the Energy Innovation Programme Office coordinating cleantech strategies across government agencies.

These kinds of approaches will be critical to maximising energy efficiency in the years to come. DNV GL predicts that access to - and creating information from - data-generating devices will become a thriving activity in the power industry by 2025. This type of digitisation will lead to abundant, more accurate data that is available faster. This will optimise the design, planning and operations of solar and other energy source assets, as well as the transmission, distribution and use of electricity in Singapore's society.

This can be best demonstrated in Singapore's newest buildings. The nation continues to shift its attention to the energy performance of entire office and residential buildings, to ensure they are smartly designed to produce more energy than they need. Within the next 10 years, we expect energy-producing buildings to be the standard for new residential properties in many industrialised countries - including, hopefully, Singapore.

Looking longer term, buildings have the potential to become energy hubs, an invaluable asset in the management of power systems. This means that an office building can help stabilise the power grid by providing power to other residential, industrial and commercial customers.

In line with Singapore's "Smart Nation" vision, these technologies will be increasingly implemented throughout the energy industry. They will help accelerate the region's energy transition and help secure a reliable and sustainable energy supply for Singapore in the years to come.