Powering Singapore for the future

CLIMATE change - a key topic during the Singapore International Energy Week - is the existential threat today. The drumbeats are getting louder, and the world is beginning to listen. On the other hand, with improving living standards, growth in global energy demand is seen as inevitable. These seemingly contradictory priorities of growth and reducing environmental impact are prompting governments and corporations to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by green growth where economic expansion is decoupled from energy usage.

A large proportion of the global strategy for reduction in emissions intensity will rely on electrification and deployment of renewable energy. The world's primary energy supply continues to rely on fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil. Renewables contribute only around a quarter of the energy mix, even though their share is growing. Driven by falling costs of solar cells and wind energy (88 per cent and 54 per cent reduction respectively from 2010 to 2019), investments in renewables capacity continue to outstrip those in new capacity of fossil fuel-based power generation. Battery costs have similarly fallen 86 per cent from 2010 to 2019, making electric vehicles progressively cheaper and easier to provide back-up for solar cells for when the sun doesn't shine.

Energy demand delivered by electricity (for example, transportation, cooking, cooling) will double from 19 per cent in 2017 to 40 per cent in 2050. This shift to renewables and electrification will require a fresh look at the power sector.