Energy Handbook 2011 - GBR

P o w e r S u m m i t - T h e E n e r g y H a n d b o o k 2 0 1 1
C o u n t r y P r o f i l e : S i n g a p o r e
Since SERIS opened in 2008 its role has
been threefold: working with private
industry, developing PV technologies,
and supporting the push for solar power
in Singapore. In the last few years alone,
the significance of the Institute has been
reflected in the increasing number of
staff. Says Professor Luther: “We were
established in April of 2008, and we
started with two people and now we have
140 people. We are going for something
between 150–200 people by next year.”
Apart from REC, other large solar companies
have also made Singapore their regional
home. Germany-based Conergy, a major
player in the power sector worldwide, is
both a service provider – with activities
including project development, financing
and engineering solutions – and a product
designer and manufacturer. Conergy is
also one of the few companies to offer
“output insurance” covering power loss
due to lack of sunlight. Marc Lohoff,
President of Conergy Asia Pacific and
Middle East, explains how solar investors
are becoming more sophisticated. “We
see that the market is currently shifting,
especially in south-east Asia, and so is
the mindset of investors,” he says.
“We are a very new industry, and a lot
of investors lack experience on how to
rate projects. In the beginning they were
looking at the return on equity, but they
assumed that even though the cost varies,
the quality remains the same – so they
would go for the cheapest offer. They are
now understanding that they have to look
at the cost of electricity generation over
the lifespan of a plant. This is Conergy’s
advantage: we provide a high-quality
system with a very high output. This is
why we sell more and more of our premium
products in this competitive market.”
Backed by government support and
strong innovation in renewable energy,
both Singaporean and international
companies have been seeing growth in
their businesses across the region. Despite
the lack of a domestic market, companies
such as Asiatic Group Engineering and
Phoenix Solar have been targeting the
installation of solar panels on Singapore’s
buildings. While the absence of a feedin
tariff means that Singapore has less
stimulus than other countries for the
growth of solar energy, the government
nevertheless believes the domestic
market could grow. As Lawrence Wong
puts it: “We would be happy for more
people to set up more solar installations in
Singapore and the power grid can easily
accommodate up to 350 MW of solar, so
we can take in a lot more than we are
right now.”
Wind
While solar might still hold potential for
Singapore in limited capacities, wind
speeds in Singapore are low, so the
installation of large-scale wind turbines
is not considered. Other countries in
the region, however – especially the
Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – have
been exploiting their wind capacity
more and more. “Traditional markets for
wind energy are clearly in Europe,” says
Sean Sutton, President of wind turbine
manufacturer Vestas Asia Pacific. “But
for the past three years, there has been
a big shift towards Asia and especially
the developing countries,” he notes. With
this in mind, Vestas, the world’s largest
producer of wind turbines, decided just
a few years ago to base its regional
headquarters and one of its largest R&D
centres in Singapore.
Another recent entrant into the wind
energy market has been EnergyCorp
Global, which was established two
years ago when the renewable energy
industry in Singapore started to grow
with government support. EnergyCorp
Global decided to enter the wind turbine
industry as well as becoming a system
integrator for a wider spectrum of
products. “Seeing that the government
was supporting the growth of this sector,
we also came out into the market,”
says Michael Heng, a former professor
at Singapore’s School of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering, and currently
CEO of EnergyCorp Global.
Interview with Sanjiv Lamba,
Managing Director (South and East Asia), Linde Gas
Q – What is the role of
the Linde Gas Singapore
office?
A – Linde Gas in South and
East Asia is headquartered
out of Singapore and
deals with 11 countries
in the region. We have
a strong footprint here,
with two manufacturing
facilities: one on Jurong
Island and another in Tuas.
Our Jurong Island plant is one of the world’s most
integrated gasification complexes. For the last three
years we have had an active investment program
in Singapore and the region, so we see ourselves
continuing to increase our presence here.
Q – How does Linde Gas contribute to renewable
energy?
A – We actively promote the cause of energy
sustainability across all the industries we serve,
and from a renewable energy perspective we are
the leading player in the region for the development
of the photovoltaic industry. How we do that is
by working with original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) and our customers to provide gases and
chemicals into the manufacture of PV cells. We
are at the back end of the production process, so
we are less visible, but we are embedded into the
infrastructure and our technologies play a vital
role. We work with a large number of customers
all across the region and we supply leading solar
manufacturers in Malaysia, India, Philippines, and
others in the region.
Q – What is your outlook on Linde’s development
for the near to medium term?
A – I see the next five years in Singapore being
very exciting. I think the government and EDB
have great plans for the city state, and are very
focused in execution. That is very important from
our perspective because it allows us to align our
strategies to actively promote what happens in
Singapore, and make sure that we are supporting
that development through our own investments.”
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