The Singapore Engineer December 2018

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SINGAPORE

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER

www.ies.org.sg

December 2018 | MCI (P) 009/03/2018

Light Fidelity technology enables broadband Internet connection through light waves

PLUS

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING: Requirements of IEC 61439 Standard rela ng to the specifica on of electrical switchboards ENERGY ENGINEERING: Biomass Power Plant Development - ‘Cheap and Cheerful’ or ‘Bells and Whistles’?

CHEMICAL & PROCESS ENGINEERING: Making products with chemically recycled plas cs

CONTENTS FEATURES COVER STORY 28 Light Fidelity technology enables broadband Internet connec on through light waves It is said to offer several benefits.

28

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 30 Siemens inaugurates new campus in Switzerland Incorpora ng advances in digitalisa on, energy efficiency and concepts for work spaces of the future.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

31

32 Requirements of IEC 61439 Standard rela ng to the specifica on of electrical switchboards Owners, specifiers, installers, suppliers, and users need to be updated on changes to tes ng and acceptance of electrical switchboards.

34

ENERGY ENGINEERING 36 Siemens and ST Engineering secure order for floa ng power plant Contribu ng to efficient power genera on in the Dominican Republic.

36 President Prof Yeoh Lean Weng Chief Editor T Bhaskaran t_b_n8@yahoo.com

Publica ons Manager Desmond Teo desmond@iesnet.org.sg Publica ons Execu ve Queek Jiayu jiayu@iesnet.org.sg

Editorial Panel Er. Chong Kee Sen Dr Chandra Segaran Dr Ang Keng Been Mr Gary Ong Dr Victor Sim Mr Syafiq Shahul Media Representa ve Mul Nine Corpora on Pte Ltd sales@mul 9.com.sg

02

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Design & layout by 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd Cover designed by Irin Kuah Cover images by Signify Published by The Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore 70 Bukit Tinggi Road, Singapore 289758 Tel: 6469 5000 I Fax: 6467 1108 Printed in Singapore

www.ies.org.sg

ENERGY ENGINEERING 38 An open standard for digitalising power transformers With increasing demands being placed on energy networks, the deployment of intelligent equipment is becoming a necessity.

39 Biomass Power Plant Development - ‘Cheap and Cheerful’ or ‘Bells and Whistles’?

A biomass power plant of rela vely small project size, using ‘tried and tested’ technology is compared to a larger scale project, using ‘cu ng edge’ technology.

38

CHEMICAL & PROCESS ENGINEERING 46 Making products with chemically recycled plas cs Breaking new ground in the circular economy.

REGULAR SECTIONS

42

06 INDUSTRY NEWS 24 EVENTS 47 IES UPDATE

46

The Singapore Engineer is published monthly by The Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore (IES). The publica on is distributed free-of-charge to IES members and affiliates. Views expressed in this publica on do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or IES. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine shall be reproduced, mechanically or electronically, without the prior consent of IES. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy of the content at press me, IES will not be liable for any discrepancies. Unsolicited contribu ons are welcome but their inclusion in the magazine is at the discre on of the Editor.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

03

INDUSTRY NEWS

NEW ERA OF GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION TO BEGIN

UNDER PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE AGREEMENT Governments have adopted a robust set of guidelines for implemen ng the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, at the Katowice Climate Change Conference (COP 24), held from 2 to 14 December 2018, in Katowice, Poland.

The implementa on of the agreement will benefit all people, especially the most vulnerable.

The ‘Katowice Climate Package’ is designed to opera onalise the climate change regime contained in the Paris Agreement. Under the auspices of the United Na ons Climate Change Secretariat, it will promote interna onal coopera on and encourage greater ambi on.

The guidelines will promote trust among na ons and encourage them to play their part in addressing the challenge of climate change.

The Katowice package includes guidelines that will opera onalise the transparency framework.

It sets out how countries will provide informa on about their Na onally Determined Contribu ons (NDCs) that describe their domes c climate ac ons. This informa on includes mi ga on and adapta on measures as well as details of financial support for climate ac on in developing countries.

However, at COP 24, the differences could not be overcome. Because of this, countries have agreed to finalise the details for market mechanisms in the coming year, in view of adop ng them at the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP25).

The Fiji-led Talanoa Dialogue, a year-long inclusive dialogue around ambi on as it relates to the Paris Agreement, concluded at COP24, with the Global warming of 1.5° C report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a major input.

The final High-Level session in Katowice resulted in the Talanoa Call for Ac on, to all countries and stakeholders to act with urgency.

Major announcements

The package also includes guidelines that relate to:

Many developed countries pledged financial support to enable developing countries to act. This is especially important for the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

• The process for establishing new targets on finance, from 2025 onwards, to follow-on from the current target of mobilising USD 100 billion per year, from 2020, to support developing countries.

Countries have sent significant posi ve signals towards GCF’s first formal replenishment, with Germany and Norway announcing that they would double their contribu ons.

• How to conduct the Global Stocktake of the effec veness of climate ac on, in 2023.

The Adapta on Fund received a total of USD 129 million.

• How to assess progress on the development and transfer of technology.

The agreed guidelines mean that countries can now establish the na onal systems that are needed for implemen ng the Paris Agreement, as of 2020. The same will be done at the interna onal level.

Func oning together, these systems will ensure that na ons can act in an atmosphere of trust and assess progress of their climate ac ons.

The main issues s ll to be resolved concern the use of coopera ve approaches, as well as the sustainable development mechanism, as contained in the Paris Agreement’s Ar cle 6. These would allow countries to meet a part of their domes c mi ga on goals through the use of so-called ‘market mechanisms’.

Market mechanisms provide flexible instruments for reducing the costs of cu ng emissions, such as carbon markets. Here, the Paris Agreement recognises the need 06

for global rules to safeguard the integrity of all countries’ efforts. These rules are important to ensure that each tonne of emissions released into the atmosphere is accounted for. In this way, progress towards the emission limita on goals of the Paris Agreement can be accurately measured.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

The engagement of mul lateral development banks (MDBs), interna onal organisa ons, businesses, investors and civil society, at COP 24, helped to build the poli cal will towards the outcome in Katowice.

Many made key announcements that were cri cal to build momentum. These include: • The World Bank’s pledge of USD 200 billion in climate ac on funding for the period 2021-2025.

• The MDBs’ announcement that they will align their ac vi es with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

• The commitment by 15 interna onal organisa ons to make their opera ons climate-neutral.

• The announcement by the C40 Ci es coali on, which includes ci es across the globe, that they will work with the IPCC to iden fy how the Global Warming of 1.5° C report can apply to ci es’ climate ac ons.

The next United Na ons Climate Change Conference will take place in Chile.

INDUSTRY NEWS

THE BLUE CIRCLE PARTNERS WITH

AYALA GROUP FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS Singapore-based renewable energy developer and operator, The Blue Circle Pte Ltd, primarily ac ve in the Mekong region (Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia), has announced the signing of a strategic partnership with AC Energy Inc, the power subsidiary of Ayala Corpora on, one of the largest business groups in the Philippines.

AC Energy and The Blue Circle, in which AC Energy has a 23% equity stake, will jointly develop and construct a pipeline of projects, providing around 1,500 MW of wind energy across Southeast Asia, which includes more than 700 MW in Vietnam.

“We are excited to partner with The Blue Circle, as we expand rapidly across the region. Our strategic partnership builds on our combined exper se, strong financing capabili es and robust development pipeline”, said Eric Francia, Chief Execu ve Officer, AC Energy.

“Ayala Corpora on is one of the most respected names in Southeast Asia, as a family-owned, mul -sector group, founded in 1834 and s ll run by entrepreneurs”, stated Olivier Duguet, Founder, Chairman and Chief Execu ve Officer of The Blue Circle.

Together, The Blue Circle and AC Energy expect to start construc on of 200 MW of wind energy projects in Vietnam, in 2019.

These projects will follow the comple on of The Blue Circle’s 40 MW Dam Nai wind project.

AC Energy has earmarked USD 100 million of equity to fund 2019 projects with The Blue Circle. The two companies will work together also on The Blue Circle’s exis ng projects in the Philippines, Indonesia and Laos.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

07

ADVERTORIAL

NURTURING ‘THINKING TINKERERS’ FOR PHARMA INDUSTRY The pharmaceutical sector is an important contributor to the Singapore economy, accounting for more than three per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Singapore is a leading location for best-in-class manufacturing plants, where a wide range of products including active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug products and biologics drug substances are launched and produced.

Industry leaders like GSK, MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Shire, Lonza, AbbVie and Amgen have global manufacturing hubs in Singapore, with a combined output of around S$17 billion worth of products for global markets.

To support the growth of the knowledge-intensive pharmaceutical industry, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) launched the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Pharmaceutical Engineering in 2015 – the first of its kind in Singapore. Built on an interdisciplinary curriculum that intersects engineering, life sciences and chemistry, the applied degree programme aims to deliver a rigorous education with a strong industry focus.

In addition, students have the opportunity to gain a global perspective of industry best practices by embarking on various international programmes, such as the Overseas Exposure Programme and Overseas Integrated Work Study Programme (OIWSP). These include work attachments with overseas pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, where they can experience working on modern industrial-scale unit operations, as well as learn state-of-the-art analytical technologies for pharmaceutical product monitoring and certification.

SIT is also part of the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS) consortium led by A*STAR to drive the transformation of the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Backed by a S$34-million grant, the programme enables SIT to work with pharmaceutical giants such as GSK, MSD and Pfizer to build innovative practices and contribute to better quality products and value for patients.

SIT’s PharmE students are trained to be equipped with the full spectrum of skill sets pertinent to drug manufacturing, ranging from drug development and production to process development, operations, validation, regulation and compliance. In addition, modules to develop students’ business and management acumen are offered to add breadth to the programme.

An integral part of SIT’s applied learning education is the eight to 12-month long Integrated Work Study Programme Students’ visit to Amgen as part of their applied learning.

(IWSP), where students apply what they have learnt in the classroom in a real-world setting. Students also have to undertake capstone projects centred on solving industry problems during their IWSP, under the guidance of both SIT faculty and company supervisors.

“Through such exposure, our students learn to be ‘thinking tinkerers’ – constantly looking to improve things and solve practical problems with innovative solutions. We hope to groom them into industry-ready talents to make an impactful contribution to the pharmaceutical industry,” explained Associate Professor Lim Kok Hwa, Programme Director, SIT. Students’ visit to Amgen as part of their applied learning.

08

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS

NEW CERTIFICATION SCHEME FOR ENGINEERS

ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRY The Na onal Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore (IES) have jointly launched a new scheme for engineers, to cer fy their technical exper se and experience in improving the energy performance of industrial processes, systems and equipment.

This will qualify them to conduct Energy Efficiency Opportuni es Assessments (EEOAs) for energy-intensive industrial facili es.

The scheme builds up a pool of competent engineers to help industrial companies, regulated Winners of the EENP Awards 2018 with Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment under the Energy Conserva on and Water Resources & Ministry of Health. To the immediate right of Dr Khor, is Mr Albert Chua, Permanent Act (ECA), to assess the energy Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. performance of their facili es and processes, and iden fy opportuni es for energy efficiency improvement.

Energy efficiency is one of the key strategies to reduce carbon emissions from the industrial sector which accounts for about 60% of Singapore’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through this cer fica on scheme, NEA hopes to build a pipeline of engineers who specialise in industrial energy efficiency and who can help companies to improve the energy performance of their industrial facili es.

The EEO Assessor Cer fica on Scheme was announced at the 8th edi on of the Energy Efficiency Na onal Partnership Awards (EENP Awards), by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, who was the Guest-of-Honour at the event. EENP Awards 2018 was held recently at the Devan Nair Ins tute for Employment and Employability.

Dr Amy Khor, speaking at EENP Awards 2018.

EEO Assessor Cer fica on Scheme Under the scheme, prospec ve EEO Assessors will be evaluated by a panel of qualified professionals, appointed by NEA and IES, from industry, academia and the public sector. The panel will assess the applicants’ competencies and experience to lead and conduct EEOAs in accordance with interna onal standards such as ISO 50002- Energy Audits. IES will manage an online register of these cer fied EEO Assessors, to facilitate the matching of independent assessors to companies seeking external exper se.

As EEO Assessors are qualified professionals who have deep exper se in their fields, NEA has worked with the Chartered Engineer Board (CEB) of IES to recognise the exper se of EEO Assessors by awarding the tle ‘Char10

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

tered Engineer’ under the energy sector. The cer fica on scheme is open to applicants and interested engineers can apply at h p://eeoa.sg.

“EEO Assessors are engineers who have a unique blend of industrial experience and energy management experse. They will play a crucial role in helping companies evaluate the energy performance of their processes, systems and equipment, and recommend engineering solu ons for energy efficiency improvements. We hope that the cer fica on and recogni on scheme will inspire prac sing engineers, and those aspiring to become one of them, to build a career in energy efficiency, to support Singapore’s journey towards a low-carbon future”, said Dr Khor.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Outstanding achievements of EENP Awards 2018 winners The EENP Awards is an important pla orm to help Singapore companies discover the latest best industry prac ces, and encourage them to adapt these sound energy management measures in their opera ons. This year, Dr Khor conferred the awards to 10 companies, two energy managers and three public sector organisa ons, who have demonstrated commitment to climate ac on through their energy efficiency and conserva on efforts.

Among the winners of the EENP Awards 2018 is Er Pandurangan Siva, an energy manager at Asahi Kasei Plas cs Singapore Pte Ltd. Er Siva, who won the award in the ‘Outstanding Energy Manager of the Year’ category, conducted a plant-wide energy audit of the chemical manufacturing plant and pushed for the implementa on of the recommenda ons from the audit, resul ng in 16,000 MWh of energy saved. Er Siva, who has a Master of Science (Safety, Health and Environmental Technology) degree and is also a Singapore Cer fied Energy Manager, plans to apply for the EEO Assessor cer fica on to build upon his professional qualifica ons.

Another EENP Award winner, G-Energy Global, has contributed to improving Singapore’s industrial energy efficiency through its work in helping companies enhance their internal energy management capabili es. G-Energy Global’s chilled water system retrofit projects have collec vely achieved annual energy savings of about 7,330 MWh. Moving forward, the energy efficiency experts at G-Energy Global, which was 2018’s ‘Outstanding Energy Services Provider of the Year’, will be applying for cer fica on as EEO Assessors to assist their clients to achieve further energy and cost savings.

Key to the 2018 EENP Award winners’ success was the use of innova ve and data-driven strategies. BASF South East Asia Pte Ltd, winner of the ‘Excellence in Energy Management’ category, employs a structured energy management system to track the energy performance of their processes, and the data is frequently analysed against their energy targets. Through this structured approach, they were able to re-design one of their processes to bypass a hea ng and cooling step, with no impact on product quality, resul ng in energy savings of about 288,000 kWh. The winner in the ‘Best Prac ces’ category, likewise, used innova on to rethink tradi onal prac ces. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Pte Ltd embarked on a rigorous engineering evalua on of the use of cold de-ionised water, instead of hot de-ionised water, for the rinsing of semiconductor wafers in its fabrica on process. The company subsequently implemented the switch without affec ng the func onality and reliability of the end-product, and was able to decommission its diesel-fired boilers. The project resulted in a reduc on of 6,590 litres of diesel used per day, transla ng to an annual carbon abatement of close to 6,500 tonnes.

In addi on to thinking out-of-the-box, another factor behind the winners’ outstanding achievements was the

harnessing of technology to help them reap energy savings. For example, when rejuvena ng the MAS Building, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) incorporated smart energy-saving features into its infrastructure renewal plans, such as smart systems to monitor and regulate energy use, and occupancy-based ligh ng and ven la on control in toilets. For its efforts, which led to SGD 270,000 worth of energy savings over four years, MAS won the award in the ‘Best Energy Efficiency Pracces in the Public Sector’ category.

“The industrial sector is the largest energy consumer and contributes more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions in Singapore. Winners of the EENP Awards 2018 serve as excellent models to emulate, in reducing our carbon footprint. Collec vely, the projects under the ‘Best Prac ces’ category alone have abated 12 kilo-tonnes of our annual carbon emissions. Together, with the enhancements to the ECA, the EEO Assessor cer fica on scheme will help raise the standard of energy efficiency in the industrial sector”, said Mr Tan Meng Dui, CEO, NEA.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP AWARDS 2018 WINNERS OF EENP AWARDS 2018 This year, 15 companies, organisa ons and individuals received the award, under five categories Excellence in Energy Management BASF South East Asia Pte Ltd Best Prac ces GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte Ltd Best Prac ces (Honourable Men on) HP Inc Singapore and Barghest Building Performance Pte Ltd GlaxoSmithKline Petrochemical Corpora on of Singapore (Private) Limited Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Singapore Methyl Methacrylate Pte Ltd Wieland Metals Singapore Pte Ltd Outstanding Energy Manager of the Year Mr Chen Jiayi, Energy Manager in SATS Ltd Er Pandurangan Siva, Senior Engineer and Energy Manager in Asahi Kasei Plas cs Singapore Pte Ltd Outstanding Energy Services Provider of the Year G-Energy Global Pte Ltd Best Energy Efficiency Prac ces in Public Sector Immigra on & Checkpoints Authority Monetary Authority of Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

11

INDUSTRY NEWS

TEN LOCAL COMPANIES WIN ASEAN ENERGY AWARDS 2018 Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore, congratulated the 10 ASEAN Energy Awards winners for their efforts in driving sustainability designs and projects.

The awards were presented at the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Mee ng (AMEM) Official Dinner.

At the ASEAN Energy Awards 2018 Ceremony are, from le Mr Bernard Nee, Deputy Chief Execu ve, Energy Planning & Development Division, Energy Market Authority; Senior Assistant Commissioner Anwar Abdullah, Senior Director of Emergency Services, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF); Mr Patrick Mok, Building Manager, Alexandra Point; Mr Gareth Tang, Senior Vice President, Technology Innova on Head, Innosparks; Prof Arnoud De Meyer, President, Singapore Management University; Mr Donald Wai, Director, Hospital Planning and Infrastructure, Yishun Health, Na onal Healthcare Group (NHG); Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore; Dr Thomas Reindl, Deputy CEO, Solar Energy Research Ins tute of Singapore (SERIS), Na onal University of Singapore); Prof Yeoh Lean Weng, President, Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore; Mr Lim Hock Yu, Deputy Chief Execu ve, People’s Associa on; Ms Leong-Kok Su Ming, Deputy Managing Director, BCA Academy; Ms Latha Ganesh, Senior Assistant Director, Energy Market Authority; Ms Beverly Chee, Assistant General Manager, Business Development, Keppel Land; and Ms Tan Pei Shan, Director, Energy Division, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Launched in 2000 by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the ASEAN Energy Awards is the region’s highest recogni on of efforts in energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy management. The awards aim to encourage greater private sector interest to incorporate sustainable and innova ve features into projects in the region.

This year, Singapore emerged winners in three categories: • Energy Efficiency Building Awards - the highest accolade for energy efficiency in buildings.

• Green Building Awards - where buildings are assessed holis cally, based on their energy and water efficiency, environmental sustainability, and other innova ve features.

• Special Submissions - for projects that have used innova ve technologies to reduce energy consump on and increase the use of renewable energy.

Dr Koh said, “The number of local winners has increased from seven and nine, in 2017 and 2016, respec vely, to 10 organisa ons this year. This is testament to Singapore’s commitment towards a more resilient and sustainable energy future. Through innova ve research in the areas of energy-efficient designs and renewable energy technology, the awardees have showcased the efforts made towards the adop on of cleaner energy in our built-up environment. These winning projects also add to Singapore’s contribu ons to regional and global efforts for new energy solu ons”.

Singapore, as the 2018 ASEAN Chair, hosted the 36th AMEM. It was held together with the Singapore Interna onal Energy Week 2018 (SIEW 2018).

12

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Global energy leaders share insights and perspec ves at SIEW 2018 Singapore Interna onal Energy Week 2018 (SIEW 2018), the 11th edi on of the event, was held from 29 October 2018 to 2 November 2018, at the Sands Expo and Conven on Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Organised by the Energy Market Authority, Singapore, the event brought together dis nguished global energy leaders to share insights and perspec ves on the theme ‘Transforming Energy: Invest, Innovate, Integrate’.

Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, delivered the SIEW 2018 Opening Remarks.

The SIEW 2018 Opening Keynote Addresses were delivered by Dr Fa h Birol, Execu ve Director, Interna onal Energy Agency (IEA) and by Mr John Abbo , Downstream Director and Member of the Execu ve Commi ee at Shell.

Also, for the first me, the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Mee ng (AMEM) and Associated Mee ngs were held together with SIEW 2018.

Other high-level discussions at SIEW 2018 included the 2nd Singapore-IEA Forum, SIEW Thinktank Roundtables, and SIEW Energy Insights. SIEW key partner events, comprising Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES), Asian Downstream Summit (ADS) and Gas Asia Summit (GAS), were also held this year, featuring discussions on clean energy, refining & petrochemicals, and gas & LNG, respec vely.

INDUSTRY NEWS

ASEAN Energy Awards 2018 - Award Winners GREEN BUILDING AWARDS - SMALL AND MEDIUM GREEN BUILDINGS Winner Sentosa Fire Sta on

ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUILDING AWARDS - RETROFITTED BUILDINGS Winner Keppel Bay Tower

SPECIAL SUBMISSIONS RENEWABLE ENERGY Winner Floa ng Solar PV at Tengeh Reservoir

1st Runner Up IES Green Building at Bukit Tinggi

2nd Runner Up Alexandra Point

ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUILDING AWARDS - NEW AND EXISTING BUILDINGS Winner SMU Law School

ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUILDING AWARDS - TROPICAL BUILDINGS Winner BCA Academy

SPECIAL SUBMISSIONS – ENERGY EFFICIENCY Winner Airbitat Smart Cooler by Innosparks

1st Runner Up Our Tampines Hub

1st Runner Up Yishun Community Hospital

IES Green Building recognised at ASEAN Energy Awards 2018 IES Green Building at Bukit Tinggi clinched the first runner-up posi on in the ‘Green Building Awards - Small and Medium Green Buildings’ category of the ASEAN Energy Awards 2018, for its achievements in energy efficiency, usage of renewable energy, water efficiency, environmental sustainability, indoor environment quality, opera on and maintenance, as well as other features.

Completed in 2016, the IES Green Building is a three-storey ins tu onal building, housing office, mee ng and training facili es, and a basement car park. Designed and built by engineers for engineers, the well-insulated building reduces both external heat gain and air-condi oning cooling load. With its efficient Variable Refrigerant Volume system, the cooling system’s efficiency is rated at less than 0.75 kW/RT. Other sustainability features include: • Design of carpark and office spaces, that allows for maximum daylight penetra on, reducing the reliance on ar ficial ligh ng; installa on of mo on sensors in carparks, stairwells and toilets, to reduce electricity use; the use of energy-efficient fixtures such as T5 fluorescent lamps and LEDs, where necessary.

• Installa on of solar panel arrays spanning a total of 195 m2, on the en re roof space, to maximise the capture of renewable energy and reduce the opera onal carbon footprint. This generates approximately 25% of the building’s annual power needs.

• Installa on of an intelligent Advanced Energy Management System to enable the monitoring of electricity, water and gas consump on, from any web-enabled device. This facilitates efficient decision-making on maximising energy-saving opportuni es and encourages employees to take ownership of the process.

“IES would like to dedicate this award to all the engineers who had contributed their exper se and services towards the construc on of the IES Green Building @ Bukit Tinggi. We hope that our effort in adop ng innova ve green prac ces will contribute to local and regional efforts in crea ng a sustainable and reliable energy future”, said Prof Yeoh Lean Weng, President, Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore (IES).

“The IES Green Building has demonstrated the feasibility of harnessing sustainable construc on processes and innova ve green solu ons to enhance environmental performance. We hope that this will inspire the built environment sector to increase the commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency and adopt renewable clean energy for all building projects”, said Er. Chong Kee Sen, Chairman, IES Re-Development Taskforce Commi ee and Past President, IES. The building has also won the Green Mark Pla num Award (2017) from the Building and Construc on Authority and received PUB’s ABC Waters Cer fica on, in 2016.

Prof Yeoh Lean Weng (right), President, IES, receives the 1st Runner Up Award won by IES Green Building, under the ‘Green Building Awards - Small and Medium Green Buildings’ category of the ASEAN Energy Awards 2018, from Dato Lim Jock Hoi, ASEAN Secretary-General.

Image by Energy Market Authority.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

13

INDUSTRY NEWS

IRENA SIGNS PARTNERSHIP WITH ASEAN TO SCALE UP DEPLOYMENT OF RENEWABLES

A er the signing of the MoU between IRENA and ASEAN are, from le , H E Dr Khammany Inthirath, Minister of Energy and Mines, Lao PDR; H E Yeo Bee Yin, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change, Malaysia; H E U Win Khaing, Union Minister for Electricity and Energy, Myanmar; H E Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore; H E Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore; H E Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General, ASEAN Secretariat; Mr Adnan Z Amin, Director-General, Interna onal Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); H E Dr Siri Jirapongphan Minister of Energy, Thailand; H E Dang Hoang An, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Vietnam; H E Dato Mat Suny Hussein, Minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry, Brunei; H E Ith Praing, Secretary of State, Minister of Mines and Energy, Cambodia; and H E Dr Arcandra Tahar, Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia.

The Interna onal Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) signed an agreement with the Associa on of Southeast Asian Na ons (ASEAN), forging a new partnership aimed at scaling up renewable energy deployment and advancing the transi on to a sustainable energy future.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed

by IRENA’s Director-General, Adnan Z Amin, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi, on the sidelines of the 36th AMEM and SIEW 2018, and in the presence of regional ministers.

Under the agreement, IRENA and ASEAN will work closely to strengthen the enabling environment for renewable energy investment and deployment, as ASEAN pursues an aspira onal target of 23% of primary energy from renewables, by 2025. Based on IRENA’s analysis, achieving the target will require an es mated annual investment of USD 27 billion, equivalent to 1% of regional GDP, for the next eight years - a tenfold increase on 2016 investment volumes.

“This partnership brings poli cal will and technical knowledge together to unlock the vast poten al that exists in Southeast Asia to harness renewable energy and deliver widespread benefits to communi es in all 10 member states. IRENA will work closely with ASEAN to implement a joint ac on plan that ensures Southeast Asia con nues its remarkable economic story in a new age of energy”, said Mr Amin.

14

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

“Transi oning our energy systems to renewable energy and suppor ng sustainable development are top priori es for ASEAN member states and for the people of our na ons. The world is evolving. New technologies and innova ve approaches present important social and economic opportuni es”, said Dato Lim. The partnership will see IRENA and ASEAN Energy Ministers work closely on the following: • Energy planning, in the context of integra on of a high share of renewables in the ASEAN energy mix.

• Assessments and roadmaps for accelerated renewable energy deployment, including updates to the ASEAN Renewable Energy Outlook.

• Promote knowledge-sharing among regional policy makers to implement enabling renewable energy policy and regulatory frameworks, in order to capitalise on the social and economic benefits of scaled-up RE deployment.

• Support the advancement of various renewable energy resources across ASEAN member states, through detailed technology and innova on assessments and cost-reduc on poten al analysis.

• Enable the development of bankable RE projects and support for project facilita on through IRENA’s various project facilita on pla orms.

• Build capacity of policy makers, regulators, u li es and other key stakeholders in the region, on various renewable energy topics, through training and workshops.

INDUSTRY NEWS

EMA IN SGD 10 MILLION PARTNERSHIP

RENEWAL WITH SEMBCORP At SIEW 2018, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, announced that the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) have renewed a SGD 10 million partnership.

This will involve ini a ves to catalyse research & development (R&D) and to develop new capabili es in Singapore’s energy sector.

The SGD 10 million renewal this year will take EMA and Sembcorp’s joint commitment to over SGD 20 million to-date.

The refreshed SembcorpEMA and Sembcorp have renewed a SGD 10 million partnership.

EMA Energy Technology Partnership (SEETP) will Sembcorp are working together to a ract young people allow Sembcorp and EMA to explore careers in the energy sector. One avenue is to encourage the transla on and commercialisa on of through the Sembcorp-EMA Energy Challenge (SEEC).

R&D solu ons in areas of strategic interest to Singapore.

This incorporates an energy-related gaming compe on, Researchers and companies will have the opportunity learning journeys and internship opportuni es for to develop new technologies that could poten ally students from Ins tutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). be test-bedded at Sembcorp’s facili es. They can also leverage on Sembcorp’s strong business networks for The SEEC compe on aims to give par cipants a taste of commercialisa on. solving real-world issues that power sector professionals face in the course of their work. The experien al learning Thus far, SGD 10 million in grants have been awarded journeys take students to sites generally inaccessible to under the SEETP to three R&D projects, two of which the public, such as the Pulau Ubin Micro-grid Test-bed have been undertaken by teams from A*STAR’s Ins tute 2 and Sembcorp’s energy facili es. These visits will allow for Infocomm Research (I R), and one by a team from students to interact with engineering professionals and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU gain a richer understanding of the energy sector. Over Singapore). the past three years, more than 300 students from The awardees will develop solu ons to: various IHLs have benefited from the SEEC. • Enhance the efficiency of pipeline inspec ons via auOn the significance of the partnership, EMA’s Chief tonomous vehicles and automa on (I2R).

Execu ve, Mr Ngiam Shih Chun, said, “Our partnership with Sembcorp will help to catalyse R&D innova ons • Recover low-grade waste heat and enhance energy to enhance the resilience of Singapore’s energy sector. efficiency at industrial plants (NTU Singapore).

To make this possible, we are also working to nurture a • Automate plant boiler inspec ons through online confuture-ready and competent workforce to keep the lights di on monitoring and data science (I2R). on for Singapore”.

Research teams for the three projects will comprise Ma hew Friedman, Chief Digital Officer at Sembcorp local small and medium enterprises, such as op cal Industries, said, “As a homegrown energy player with over microspectroscopy solu ons provider, TechnoSpex, and two decades in Singapore’s power and u li es market, aerospace precision engineering firm, Flare Dynamics.

Sembcorp is thrilled to extend our partnership with EMA These companies will, respec vely, help to develop local in suppor ng R&D, and developing a new genera on capabili es in real- me plant boiler inspec on, and the of future energy professionals. Our joint ini a ves with use of autonomous vehicles to monitor pipelines.

EMA are in line with Sembcorp’s belief in technology and innova on, a rac ng good talent and giving back to our Aside from suppor ng R&D through SEETP, there is also a community. They will also help to support the long-term need to build a pipeline of future-ready talent to support growth of Singapore’s energy sector”. the evolving needs of the energy sector. EMA and THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

15

INDUSTRY NEWS

PROGRAMME TO ACCELERATE ENERGY STORAGE IN SINGAPORE The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has launched a programme to facilitate adop on of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in Singapore. The programme, known as ACCelera ng Energy Storage for Singapore (ACCESS), was announced by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, at SIEW 2018.

Solar is the most viable renewable energy sources for Singapore. However, there are challenges to electricity reliability if solar is deployed on a large scale, such as its intermi ency, since solar power cannot be generated at night or when there is strong cloud cover during the day. Solu ons to manage intermi ency include Energy Storage Systems (ESS) which can mi gate the fluctua ons in solar photovoltaics (PV) output.

The ACCESS programme will kick off with two partners, PSA Corpora on Limited and Sembcorp Industries. EMA will work with them to pilot use cases, design business models, and facilitate regulatory and market approvals to operate ESS in Singapore. Findings from the programme will be consolidated and shared with future ACCESS partners deploying ESS. On rolling out the ACCESS programme, EMA Chief Execu ve, Mr Ngiam Shih Chun, said, “Energy Storage Systems can play an important role in harnessing solar energy more effec vely and maintaining a stable and reliable supply of electricity. We are happy to collaborate with PSA Corpora on Limited and Sembcorp Industries in deploying Energy Storage Systems in their premises.

We welcome other facility owners to step forward and join us in this programme towards suppor ng greater deployment of solar energy”.

Mr Ong Kim Pong, Regional CEO Southeast Asia, PSA Interna onal said, “As PSA con nues its journey to becoming a fully sustainable green mari me port, the electrifica on of port equipment, managing peak demand and op mising energy needs are crucial to our success. It is therefore mely that we collaborate with EMA as an ACCESS partner in this project to deploy ESS in the port, as part of our efforts to create a sustainable future. We look forward to op mising energy use and developing new solu ons for a smarter grid management system in the port”.

The programme will also help Sembcorp Industries to build up energy storage capabili es in Singapore, complement their renewables por olio, and offer greater value to their customers. Sembcorp Industries Group President & CEO Mr Neil McGregor said, “Energy storage helps counter the intermi ency of renewables, and enables the use of clean power even if the sun does not shine or there is no wind. This is a game changer 16

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

in the clean energy space, and can help accelerate the use of renewable power here. Our goal is not only to provide energy that makes a difference, but to ac vely work towards building a more sustainable future for Singapore’s energy space. We are not only a major solar power player here, but also the only established gentailer to offer renewable energy solu ons. Pilo ng and moving into energy storage systems is therefore complementary to our por olio and is a logical step for us. We are encouraged by the government’s foresight in suppor ng the growth of such solu ons, and are ready to be a torchbearer with them, in this”.

The ACCESS programme The ACCESS programme is led by EMA in collabora on with ACCESS partners, to facilitate the deployment of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in Singapore.

Objec ve The programme aims to s mulate the adop on of ESS by promo ng use cases and business models, securing space, marrying demand with solu on, and facilita ng regulatory approvals for ESS deployment.

Expected outcome The programme aims to facilitate the growth of solar PVs and move Singapore one step closer towards its solar target of 1 GWp, beyond 2020.

At the same me, the ACCESS programme will help build in-house capabili es to operate ESS for various grid applica ons.

Applica on period and criteria Applica ons for the programme are open from 1 November 2018 to 23 January 2019. Those keen to par cipate in the ACCESS programme should fulfil the following two criteria: *They are facility owners looking to pursue energy storage solu ons within their premises. *They have land space and infrastructure (such as sufficient transformer capacity in their power substa on) to support the deployment of energy storage capacity of at least 1 MW / 1 MWh on site. The land required for a 1 MW / 1 MWh lithium ba ery solu on is about the size of a 20 container, ie approximately 32 m2.

ACCESS partners can expect to work with EMA to pilot use cases and design business models to operate ESS in Singapore.

Interested par es may email EMA_Enterprise_ Development@ema.gov.sg to par cipate in the ACCESS programme.

INDUSTRY NEWS

RESEARCH PROGRAMME TO BOOST SINGAPORE’S

POWER ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES Singapore’s power engineering capabili es will get a boost with a SGD 20 million research programme focusing on next-genera on energy technologies. Known as the Exploi ng Distributed Genera on (EDGE) programme, it will focus on building capabili es in distributed energy technologies to prepare Singapore for an increasingly decentralised energy landscape. Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, announced this at SIEW 2018.

With more distributed energy resources such as solar and micro-grids coming into place, there is an increasing need to have the capabili es to manage and integrate them with the na onal power system. Hence, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Singapore Ins tute of Technology (SIT) have collaborated on this research programme to boost capabili es in this area.

Under this partnership, companies and researchers from all Ins tutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) will have the opportunity to par cipate in grant calls and develop innova ve new technologies and capabili es in the areas of micro-grid design, distributed energy op misa on and management, and differen ated power-quality systems.

EDGE will also leverage test-bedding pla orms such as the Pulau Ubin Micro-grid to raise the commercialisaon prospects of successful research outcomes. Grant awardees will be able to implement their projects in a realis c and controlled environment to test out the viability of their ideas. Successful solu ons can then be

At SIEW 2018, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between EMA and SIT on the SGD 20 million Exploi ng Distributed Genera on (EDGE) programme.

deployed on a larger scale at the upcoming SIT@Punggol campus micro-grid, when it is completed in 2023. SIT, with its Electrical Power Engineering programme and future campus micro-grid that is in the heart of the Punggol Digital District, is well-placed to push the fron ers in distributed genera on technologies.

The first R&D grant call under EDGE was made during SIEW 2018 and will close on 23 January 2019. The fiveyear programme is co-funded by the Na onal Research Founda on’s Research Innova on and Enterprise 2020 Plan, SIT as well as industry players from the power sector.

More informa on on EDGE’s inaugural grant call may be obtained from www.singaporetech.edu.sg/EDGE.

SMART GRID AT PUNGGOL DIGITAL DISTRICT A Smart Grid system that provides green energy and increases energy efficiency will serve businesses and consumers in the upcoming Punggol Digital District (PDD). JTC and SP Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the Smart Grid, at the Asia Clean Energy Summit 2018, witnessed by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Singapore.

This partnership will drive the design of smart energy soluons comprising the areas of renewable energy and electric mobility that will be integrated with the Open Digital Platform in PDD, announced in July this year.

Under the MoU, JTC and SP Group will develop and implement a Smart Grid within PDD. Companies in PDD can look forward to adop ng clean sources of energy, such as solar energy generated from building roofs, and take advantage of new technologies, such as electric vehicle charging and smart metering. Through the Smart Grid, about 1,700 t of carbon emissions could be reduced per year.

The Smart Grid will be integrated with the Open Digital Platform, allowing communica on and interac on with other building systems in PDD, such as the District Cooling System (DCS) and the Building Management System (BMS).

At the forefront of Singapore’s Smart Na on push, PDD is envisioned to be a vibrant and inclusive district where cu ng-edge technology and social innova on transform the way we work, live, learn and play in the future. PDD will house key growth sectors such as digital and cybersecurity, and will also be the first district in Singapore to be fully integrated with Internet of Things systems, from the ground up. This infrastructure will create conducive test-bed environments for businesses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to thrive in a digital economy, while the enhanced experience brought about by the digitalisa on will provide a sustainable and connected environment for the community.

The first buildings in PDD are expected to be completed by 2023.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

17

INDUSTRY NEWS

NTU AND NUS OFFICIALLY LAUNCH SINGAPORE ENERGY CENTRE

TO ADDRESS FUTURE ENERGY CHALLENGES Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Na onal University of Singapore (NUS) have launched a joint research centre to develop sustainable energy solu ons, in order to overcome the global energy challenges of the future.

The Singapore Energy Centre (SgEC) is a consor um funded by industry members, which leverages the combined exper se and capabili es of the two universi es to co-develop early-stage and near-term energy solu ons for the manufacturing sector.

ExxonMobil, SgEC’s first founding industry partner, has commi ed USD 10 million over a five-year period to support the centre’s wide range of innova ve research projects and ac vi es. The centre will also be invi ng other industry leaders to be part of the joint effort to transform the energy landscape and address future sustainability challenges.

SgEC was launched by NTU, NUS and ExxonMobil, in conjunc on with SIEW 2018.

For a start, the joint research centre will focus on researching next-genera on technologies such as new forms of energy produc on, innova ons in energy efficiency, energy conversion and storage, as well as exploring ways to mi gate and overcome climate change, and improve energy and water resilience.

The topics being explored for funding by ExxonMobil include, but are not confined to the following:

Bioscience Looking to nature’s biodiversity to discover novel materials and process designs that could result in low carbon dioxide-emi ng approaches for making fuels and chemicals, thus poten ally lowering overall carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon capture Exploring a broad range of technologies to capture exis ng carbon dioxide from industrial applica ons and sequester it or cost-effec vely convert it to useful products. This research has the poten al to reduce carbon emissions in line with Singapore’s na onal goal.

Minimising waste and use of resources Exploring technologies that reduce plas c waste, water and energy consump on during manufacturing, while providing for the needs of a growing popula on and economy. Water and energy usage are vital areas of interest to Singapore.

These research projects embody the concept of the ‘green economy’, a key focus in the Sustainable Singa18

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

At the official launch of the Singapore Energy Centre are, from le , Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar, NTU Associate Vice President (Strategy & Partnerships), NTU; Dr Vijay Swarup, Vice President (Research and Development), ExxonMobil Research and Engineering; and Prof Philip Liu, NUS Vice President (Research and Technology). Image by NTU.

pore Blueprint which aims to transform the na on into a hub for sustainable development, that encourages businesses to testbed and adopt greener prac ces.

Prof Lam Khin Yong, NTU’s Vice President for Research, said, “This joint centre will take ideas nurtured at the lab into industry, and also study the environmental impact of innova ons as well as business and economic models for its research projects. With NTU’s strong track record in sustainability, energy efficiency and ar ficial intelligence, this centre will establish a global footprint of research excellence, suppor ng Singapore’s transi on into a hub for sustainable development”.

“The SgEC marks a milestone in the joint efforts between NUS and NTU, in developing next-genera on energy technologies. This strategic partnership will enable consor um members to iden fy issues of common interest to the industry and co-develop solu ons with the two universies. This approach will bridge the gap between early-stage research and economic-centric applied research, both of which are needed for development of long-term sustainable energy solu ons”, said Prof Chen Tsuhan, NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology).

“The Singapore Energy Centre will serve as a focal point for close collabora on between universi es and industry, in exploring solu ons for addressing the dual challenge of mee ng society’s growing energy needs, while addressing the risks of climate change,” said Dr Vijay Swarup, Vice President, Research and Development, ExxonMobil Engineering and Research Company at a signing ceremony held during SIEW 2018.

SgEC is co-led by both universi es, with NTU holding the directorship for the first two years, from 2019, and NUS leading the following two years. The centre will tackle technological and socio-economic issues in sustainable energy development, and will also groom talents in related fields.

INDUSTRY NEWS

SURBANA JURONG OBTAINS ISO 37001 CERTIFICATION Urban and infrastructure consul ng firm, Surbana Jurong, has obtained the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 cer fica on.

The ISO 37001 specifies requirements and provides guidance for establishing, implemen ng, maintaining, reviewing and improving an organisa on’s an -bribery management system.

Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO, Surbana Jurong, said, “As Surbana Jurong con nues to grow globally, it is cri cal that we con nue to maintain our high standard of corporate governance and strengthen our compliance culture throughout the Group. Being the first large company in Singapore to be cer fied ISO 37001 compliant underscores our commitment towards good corporate governance. With this cer fica on, it also provides our

partners added confidence when they work with us, in any part of the world”.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, Chairman, Surbana Jurong, added, “I commend the Surbana Jurong management for achieving this cer fica on. It is important for Surbana Jurong to con nuously uphold its core value of integrity among its people, and promote clean business strategy among its partners, clients and other key stakeholders.

Beyond these, the company must also be supported by a rigorous an -bribery management system. The ISO 37001 cer fica on is an interna onal standard adopted by many companies and countries, as the acceptable an-bribery preven ve measure. This will serve as a useful, separate, check and balance management system to help monitor and document business opera ons to prevent bribery and corrup on”.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

19

INDUSTRY NEWS

BCA DRIVES THE NEXT GENERATION

OF GREEN BUILDINGS The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has launched the Super Low Energy (SLE) Programme to push the envelope of environmental sustainability in Singapore. It includes a suite of initiatives such as the SLE Buildings Technology Roadmap and the SLE Challenge, to encourage the adoption and design of cost-efficient SLE buildings. These were announced by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, at the opening of the Singapore Green Building Week 2018 (SGBW 2018).

SLE PROGRAMME: CREATING A SLE ECOSYSTEM

Since the beginning of Singapore’s green building journey in 2005, with the introduc on of BCA Green Mark and the three Green Building Masterplans, more than 3,400 buildings, covering more than 100 million m2 of gross floor area, have been greened.

• The SLE Buildings Technology Roadmap - to develop cost-effec ve solu ons to push the limits of energy efficiency.

There has been growing acceptance that green buildings make economic sense from the building life-cycle perspective. The strong business case for green buildings is clearly demonstrated in BCA’s latest Building Energy Benchmarking Report 2018. Commercial buildings continued to show commendable improvement at 14% in energy performance, since 2008. This improvement from over 1,000 commercial buildings translates to about 1,000 GWh in energy savings per annum, which is equivalent to about SGD 200 million savings in a year.

BCA is invi ng industry and government agencies to take on the SLE Challenge voluntarily. So far, more than 10 developers and building owners have pledged their commitment to achieve at least one SLE project in the next five years.

Over the years, with the advancement of technologies and the industry professionals becoming more competent in green building design, Singapore is be er posi oned to spearhead the next lap in its green building movement, to push for more energy-efficient solu ons in a cost-effec ve manner. Globally, there is growing support for the movement towards zero energy buildings. In Singapore, BCA retrofi ed an exis ng building at the BCA Academy into a zero energy building, in 2009.

“We have come a long way in our environmental sustainability journey. To kick-start the next wave of our green building movement, BCA is working with the industry professionals to deliver cost-effec ve Super Low Energy buildings which can achieve a minimum of 60% energy efficiency improvement over the 2005 building codes, when the BCA Green Mark was first introduced. Beyond this, we are embarking on more rigorous research and innova on to further push the fron er for green buildings to achieve up to 80% energy efficiency improvement. By se ng such new performance benchmarks, Singapore can play an important role in mi ga ng climate change and doing our part as a responsible global ci zen. We hope more building owners and developers will join us as we work towards the common goal to shape a greener built environment that benefits Singaporeans”, said Mr Hugh Lim, CEO, BCA. 20

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

The SLE Programme is aimed at making SLE buildings the next genera on of green buildings. It consists of two key aspects: • The SLE Challenge - to invite progressive developers to take the lead in developing SLE buildings through good designs and cost-effec ve technologies. To recognise these SLE projects, BCA has introduced the new Green Mark for SLE.

The SLE CHALLENGE

For instance, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has worked with the Army to achieve a high standard of energy efficiency for building facili es in Kranji Camp and Seletar Camp, while s ll mee ng operaonal requirements. Both developments are on track to achieve Zero Energy Building status under the new BCA Green Mark for SLE, as the framework provides pathways to meet the requirements for either a Super Low Energy Building or a Zero Energy Building.

For the Kranji Camp building, DSTA adopted computaonal fluid dynamics to simulate wind flow and design the buildings for op mal natural ven la on. Solar light pipes are used to channel sunlight into the building interior, while sensors are introduced to automa cally lower ar ficial ligh ng levels when there is sufficient sunlight, thus conserving energy. Solar panels are installed on the roofs of both buildings to convert sunlight to electricity, genera ng sufficient energy to meet all their requirements. The two Army buildings will save close to 540 MWh of electricity. DSTA also introduced the use of Mass Engineered Timber, a sustainable material that also serves as a carbon sink, for the Kranji building, which is a first for SAF facili es.

To recognise exemplary building owners and developers, BCA introduced the new BCA Green Mark for SLE (GM SLE). This voluntary certification framework for SLE buildings adds on to the BCA Green Mark (GM) scheme, to support the aspiration to achieve net zero energy usage by buildings in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. GM SLE will provide recognition for best-in-class energy-efficient buildings in addition to

INDUSTRY NEWS

their Green Mark ratings. For example, a building that achieves GM Platinum and GM SLE would be awarded Green Mark Platinum (Super Low Energy). It encourages building owners to push the boundaries in terms of passive and ac ve strategies, smart energy management, and use of renewable energy, to achieve best-in-class building energy performance. Public and private developers have agreed to strive for the GM SLE in close to 20 projects.

SLE BUILDINGS TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP BCA is also launching the SLE Buildings Technology Roadmap to help achieve the ambitious target of up to 80% energy efficiency improvement over 2005 levels.

Jointly developed in partnership with industry and academia, the roadmap outlines the broad strategies to help the industry design and develop cost-effective SLE buildings.

An SLE building with 60% energy efficiency improvement is technically feasible with best-in-class technologies today, but more research, development and demonstra on (RD&D) is needed to push the boundaries to 80% energy efficiency improvement, and to do so in a cost-effec ve way. Keppel Land is one such developer who has committed to pilot various emerging technologies at its BCA Green Mark Pla num cer fied development, Keppel Bay Tower, with a view to replicate the implementa on of these technologies to rejuvenate its other commercial buildings. In 2017, BCA and Keppel Land launched a Joint Challenge Call for test-bedding of SLE technologies at Keppel Bay Tower. This project is supported by an innovaon fund of SGD 1.28 million from BCA’s Green Buildings Innova on Cluster (GBIC) programme. Keppel Land will be demonstra ng the following five technologies within Keppel Bay Tower:

Smart ligh ng system The smart ligh ng system u lises occupancy sensors which will allow seamless transi on in ligh ng levels according to building occupancy. The fully-autonomous system will be implemented in seven levels of the building.

Air condi oning based on indoor ac vity analy cs Integrated sensors are used to capture occupants’ ac vi es and comfort levels, based on which, an analy cal model will be derived to predict and op mise air-condioning opera on to improve energy efficiency.

Intelligent building control system The smart building management system, which will be implemented throughout the en re building, uses a simula on model together with available building data for energy op misa on, predic ve maintenance and fault detec on. This technology employs a high precision physics-based simula on engine that u lises high compu ng capability, coupled with machine learning and ar ficial intelligence ability, to improve data analy cs and control. This will reduce the down me and resources required for Keppel Land to maintain and operate the development.

High efficiency air distribu on system This air handling unit fan, which is about 25% more energy-efficient than best-in-class technology, is expected to run at a lower noise level, resul ng in be er indoor environment quality for building occupants.

Cooling tower water management system This system, which will be implemented throughout the en re building, incorporates a patented solu on which dissolves exis ng scales (build-up of solids/sediment) and prevents further scale forma on. It also removes dissolved oxygen, crea ng an alkaline environment for be er corrosion control. The system will also automatically disinfect water to prevent the growth of algae and bacteria, thereby elimina ng the need for chemical treatment. The amount of blow-down water (water that is drained to remove mineral build-up) discharged is hence substan ally reduced, resul ng in significant water savings.

Characteris cs of an SLE building. Image by BCA. THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

21

INDUSTRY NEWS

ABB TO FOCUS ON

THE DIGITAL INDUSTRIES ABB has announced that Hitachi will acquire ABB’s Power Grids business, in an expansion of its exis ng partnership with Hitachi.

This will enable ABB to focus on the digital industries.

In the fast-changing world of energy infrastructure, with a shi ing customer landscape and the need for financing and increased government influence, ABB believes Hitachi is the best owner for Power Grids.

As a stable and long-term commi ed owner, with whom ABB has developed a strong business partnership since 2014, Hitachi is expected to further strengthen the business, providing it with access to new and growing markets as well as financing. ABB believes that Hitachi will accelerate Power Grids to the next stage of its development, building on the solid founda on achieved under ABB’s previous ownership.

ABB will ini ally retain a 19.9% equity stake in the jointventure, allowing for a seamless transi on.

The joint-venture will be headquartered in Switzerland, with Hitachi retaining the management team to ensure business con nuity.

Further, from 1 April 2019, ABB will simplify its organisa onal structure through discon nua on of the legacy matrix structure, thereby empowering its four leading businesses to serve customers even be er, while further sharpening responsibili es and increasing efficiency. The four businesses are Electrifica on, Industrial Automa on, Robo cs & Discrete Automa on, and Mo on.

At SPS Drives 2018, ABB presented DPA 250 S4, the company’s uninterrup ble power supply (UPS) with a module efficiency of 97.6%, lower power losses, high reliability, zero down me and low cost of ownership.

The DPA 250 S4 features ABB’s decentralised parallel architecture (DPA), covers the power range 50 kW to 1,500 kW and is specially designed for cri cal, high-density compu ng environments, such as small- to medium-sized data centres, commercial buildings, healthcare facili es, railway signalling applica ons and airports.

One DPA 250 S4 250 kW cabinet can host up to six 50 kW modules for 250 kW N+1 redundant power. Up to six 250 kW frames and up to 30 modules can be parallelled for 1,500 kW of uninterrupted, clean power. Secure ring-bus communica on ensures there is no single point of failure in the system.

As well as providing a fully scalable and easily maintained UPS, with high up me and energy efficiency, the DPA 250 S4’s dual conversion mode ensures that power going to the cri cal load is cleansed of any grid noise or fluctua ons. Its transformer-free IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) converters, which feature three-level topology with interleaving controls, mean that the device is lighter and more energy-efficient, with reduced cooling requirements.

Electrifica on

Industrial Automa on

Robo cs & Discrete Automa on

Mo on

ABB’s four leading businesses.

22

ABB showcases energy-lean uninterrup ble power supply

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS

INVESTORS CALL ON WORLD LEADERS TO

ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ‘AMBITION GAP’ As signatories of the 2018 Global Investor Statement to Governments on Climate Change, 415 global investors, with USD 32 trillion in assets-under-management, have called on governments around the world to step up ac on to address climate change.

The ‘Global Investor Statement’ reached global leaders as the United Na on’s COP24 global climate change conference in Poland entered its second week. The statement asked governments to strengthen their Na onally Determined Contribu ons to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and to enact policies to facilitate the world’s transi on to a low-carbon economy.

Three overarching priori es are highlighted in the statement, for global leaders to address - achieving the

Paris Agreement’s goals, accelera ng private sector investment for low carbon transi on, and commi ng to improve climate-related financial repor ng.

Among specific policies, the investors request governments ‘phase out thermal coal power’, ‘put a meaningful price on carbon’ and ‘phase out fossil fuel subsidies’.

Investors highlighted the ‘ambi on gap’ which the UN has determined exists between governments’ commitments and what is needed to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement - in limi ng global warming to well below 2° C - and ensuring the necessary transi on to a low-carbon economy. They stressed their ‘great concern’ about the gap, no ng consequences of an ‘unacceptably high temperature increase’ and ‘substan al nega ve economic impacts’.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

23

EVENTS

POWERGEN ASIA 2018 BRINGS REGIONAL ENERGY INDUSTRY The 26th edi on of POWERGEN Asia was held from 18 to 20 September 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Staged in Indonesia for the first me, this was the most important and successful POWERGEN Asia to-date. This year’s event joined forces with Masyarakat Ketenagalistrikan Indonesia (MKI), the highly-respected Indonesian Electrical Power Society, to host the 73rd Indonesia Na onal Electricity Day. A record 9,280 industry professionals, from 58 countries, a ended this year’s event. At POWERGEN Asia 2018, they had the opportunity to connect with 257 suppliers, represen ng all aspects of the power genera ng industry.

Companies such as Sumitomo SHI FW, ABB, MAN Energy Solu ons, Rolls Royce, Siemens, Wood, Valmet, Mitsubishi-Hitachi Power Systems, Toshiba, Kawasaki and Wärtsilä all showcased their latest solu ons, services and technologies to visitors. At the event, suppliers focusing on both conven onal and renewable energy, could meet representa ves from the power industry and discuss the opportuni es and challenges facing the market, as well as solu ons for advancing Asia’s energy future.

A total of 1,132 industry professionals signed up to a end this year’s POWERGEN Asia conference sessions that were specially curated to provide exclusive informa on on the current and future opportuni es and challenges for the Asian power sector.

Overall, 61 conference sessions ran concurrently during the three-day event, providing an invaluable experience to delegates.

On the last day of the event, the following POWERGEN Asia 2018 Best Paper Award Winners were announced: • Trends, Projects and Strategies: ‘Small Scale LNG - Powering the Future of Asia’s Island Communi es’, presented by Carsten Dommermuth, MAN Energy Solu ons SE. • Finance & Investment: ‘Key Bankability Issues for Offshore Wind Projects and How to Mi gate Them’, presented by Harriet Gray, Ashurst LLP. • ‘Op mising Plant Opera on: Op mising the U lisa on of Non-Compe ve Power Plant Asset: Case Study on Thermal Power Plant in Muara Karang’, presented by Indratno Pardiansyah, PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali.

• Power Plant Technologies: ‘Water-free Combined Cycle Distributed Power Genera on’, presented by Michael Welch, Siemens AG. • Distributed Energy Resources: ‘Hybridisa on of an Island in the Philippines’, presented by Frank Zimmermann, ILF Consul ng Engineers (Asia) Ltd. • Capitalising on Digitalisa on: ‘Communica on in the Age of Energy Cloud’, presented by David Stokes, ECI. • Renewable Energy Strategy & Technology: ‘Biomass Power Plant Development - Cheap and Cheerful or 24

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Over 25 countries were represented on the exhibi on floor, including the industry’s largest organisa ons.

Bells and Whistles?’, presented by Duncan Barker, Mo MacDonald.

Also, ICARE Founda on, based in Indonesia, won the very first POWERGEN Asia Energy Innova on Challenge Award, for its solar energy solu on that could be used in the a ermath of natural disasters.

A new look for 2019 The organisers, Clarion Energy, have announced that to further build on the success of the 2018 event, POWERGEN Asia will be joined by Asian U lity Week and DistribuTECH Asia, in 2019, offering a full end-to-end power solu ons event focusing on power genera on, digital transforma on, and transmission and distribu on.

To be held in MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 3 to 5 September 2019, the event is expected to a ract more than 10,000 a endees and 300 exhibitors. More informa on about the 2019 events can be obtained from www.powergenasia.com.

The Power & Energy Series Clarion Energy runs over 40 events that cover the Oil, Gas, Power and Energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest por olios. The por olio covers power genera on, transmission and distribu on, capital markets, investment, resource extrac on and processing, in both mature and emerging geographies.

In early 2018, Clarion Energy acquired PennWell, thereby bringing together two of the industry’s most well-respected names, to create one of the largest events companies in the world. As part of the integra on, Clarion Energy has taken a number of PennWell’s leading events, including DistribuTECH, POWERGEN and HydroVision, and added them to its leading U lity Week and Future Energy events to form the Power & Energy Series from Clarion Energy.

EVENTS

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS FORUM 2018 CLOSES WITH

NEW SOLUTIONS AND COMMITMENTS Responsible Business Forum 2018 (RBF 2018), the 7th edi on of the event addressing Sustainable Development, was held on 11 and 12 October 2018, at Sands Expo and Conven on Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The Opening Plenary Address was delivered

by Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Na ons Development Programme (UNDP).

RBF 2018 closed on a high note, with delegates pledging to pursue and advance some of the key solu ons conceived during the two-day programme.

Amongst these, 100 Resilient Ci es revealed that it would work with RBF, UNDP and Centre for Liveable Ci es (CLC), to pilot tools and guidance that help ci es ar culate their complex urban challenges. This would improve the private sector’s understanding of the issues involved, allowing for more real- me and systemic responses.

According to Lauren Sorkin, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, 100 Resilient Ci es, forums such as RBF are ideal places for ci es to bring well-defined problem statements, as they provide fer le ground for ac ve solu on-crea on.

With the new lab-style format, RBF delegates were given the opportunity to pre-register and par cipate in a sequence of workstreams, under one of five areas Climate Ac on, Urbanisa on, Circular Economy, Human Rights, and Food and Nutri on. By the end of RBF 2018, new commitments were made. Delegates had been led to reframe issues, examine current solu ons, and commit to certain goals and targets within their chosen focus areas.

“This year, we set out a new approach to help delegates iden fy ambi ous, yet realis c steps towards the SDGs. This new process has borne some fruit. I hope to see the same energy channelled towards what delegates pledged or expressed interest to work on, post-RBF”, said Tony Gourlay, Chief Execu ve Officer, Global Ini a ves, organisers of RBF.

Wide-reaching impact Notably, Climate Ac on par cipants commi ed to developing and publishing a micro-grid roadmap document for governments of lesser-developed countries, who need help to surpass legacy energy systems and modernise energy infrastructure and regula on. This roadmap document would comprise best prac ces from other countries, financing op ons, partnerships and more, as well as culminate in a series of dialogues with the business chambers of commerce, other mul laterals, banks and agencies, and a conference next February.

The group focusing on Human Rights found ways to get businesses involved in strengthening child rights, women’s equality and migrant labour rights, in supply chains. They recognised the need to build safe spaces for

Responsible Business Forum 2018 enabled delegates to iden fy ambi ous, yet realis c steps towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

women to thrive in the workplace and for stakeholders to work closely with the governments, to develop standards to combat forced labour.

Those in the Food and Nutri on track opted to focus on the inter-relatedness of human and planetary health, and the role and influence of food at its centre. Together with partners, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) proposed the development of a content hub involving mul ple contributors, run by a full- me secretariat comprising different experts, to deliver consistent informa on to different genera ons of family-units. This will be designed to drive consumer awareness on how food should be consumed, in a way that is good for both people and our planet. As a commitment, partners will con nue to work together to iden fy a city in which the solu on can be piloted.

UNDP shared that it was developing a compact with service, technology and telecom providers, to mine data around risks and opportuni es, to change consumer behaviour.

Building on key 2018 insights Delegates went away from RBF 2018, reminded that a siloed approach is o en ineffec ve. Partnerships, if established properly, provide a more cohesive picture of the challenges at hand. Partnerships linking public, private and civil society actors together also help bring sustainable ideas to market more effec vely. There is also need to foster an enabling environment that celebrates experimenta on and allows for greater collabora on and neutral facilita on.

“It has truly been a produc ve gathering. We will engage delegates over the next 12 months on the progress of specific commitments and help support these pursuits.

We hope to have updates and new experiences to share at the next RBF”, said Mr Gourlay.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

25

EVENTS

INAUGURAL INTERNATIONAL BUILT ENVIRONMENT WEEK TO SHOWCASE

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND CAPABILITIES The Building and Construc on Authority (BCA) and its strategic partners, including 12 trade associa ons and chambers (TACs), will launch a new interna onal flagship event for the built environment sector, in September next year. It will be the first event in the region to provide a pla orm for industry leaders and renowned professionals from the global built environment industry to exchange ideas and experiences on policies, business solu ons and technologies, as well as explore business opportuni es.

The inaugural Interna onal Built Environment Week (IBEW) themed ‘Transforming the way we build’ will be held from 4 to 6 September 2019.

At the so launch of IBEW, held recently, which was a ended by representa ves from industry firms and TACs, guests were given sneak peeks into the events that would anchor the week. These include: • A three-day conference where par cipants will learn about the latest built environment-related technologies and hear from renowned industry thought leaders.

• An interna onal business-matching pla orm for buyers and investors from the region to network and engage with top urban solu ons providers who are equipped to meet their interests.

• Four trade shows on smart, produc ve and green soluons, organised by Reed Exhibi ons.

Overall, more than 12,000 a endees, from thought leaders, real estate investors and developers to urban planners, architects, engineers, builders and other industry professionals, from all over the world, are expected to a end IBEW. IBEW will be the one-stop pla orm for par cipa ng firms to showcase their capabili es and innova ons, with opportuni es for business networking. There will be avenues for buyers and solu on providers to network with prospec ve partners and explore poten al business opportuni es.

Singapore has been developing capabili es in its built environment sector, to overcome challenges faced globally including climate change, urbanisa on and digital disrup on. In the last two decades, Singapore has been steadily gaining experience in the areas of green buildings, produc vity and digitalisa on.

Singapore’s progress in green buildings, in par cular, was highly recognised interna onally including through representa on at the World Green Building Council.

Mr Hugh Lim, Chief Execu ve Officer of BCA said, “The Singapore brand has been synonymous with meliness and quality. Our built environment industry has seen exci ng developments over the years and has built up much experience and exper se. Against the global 26

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

backdrop of an increasingly demanding business environment and rapid technological changes, the new Interna onal Built Environment Week, which will be held annually in Singapore, will bring together decisionmakers and businesses from the global built environment sector to transform the way we build”.

Expanded tradeshows to offer diverse solu ons The four anchor tradeshows, InnoBuild Asia (IB Asia), Smart Ci es and Buildings Asia (SCB Asia), Build Eco Xpo Asia (BEX Asia) and Mostra Convegno Expocomfort Asia (MCE Asia), which will be held concurrently during IBEW, will draw in greater interna onal par cipa on. These exhibi ons feature a host of innova ve products and solu ons targeted at the diverse needs of the region’s built environment.

The Smart Ci es and Buildings Asia show will focus on the convergence of digital solu ons and technology in the built environment, as na ons across the region intensify their efforts to build smart, liveable ci es of tomorrow. At InnoBuild Asia, companies will learn how they can tap on technologies, equipment and systems to build more efficiently and produc vely. BEX Asia will con nue to enhance its focus on sustainability which has become even more cri cal to the industry. It would also put the spotlight on innova ve architectural materials and finishes, and MCE Asia will remain focused on energy-efficient solu ons in MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) and Renewable Energy.

“Clearly, as technological advancements disrupt industries across the world, the built environment sector in Asia will not be spared. It is vital that the industry keeps pace with the changes”, said Ms Michelle Lim, Managing Director, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, Reed Exhibi ons.

“Pla orms like the Interna onal Built Environment Week, together with the four anchor trade events of SCB Asia, IB Asia, BEX Asia and MCE Asia, will be an important accelerator for the industry’s transforma on and evolu on, that will facilitate the crea on of quality, efficient and comfortable living and working spaces for one and all”, she added.

Following the so launch of IBEW, BCA opened the inaugural BuildSG Leadership Forum, a new engagement pla orm for leaders in Singapore’s built environment to share best prac ces and transforma ve ideas.

Also on the occasion, the Prefabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Manufacturer Accredita on Scheme (Prefab MEP MAS) was introduced. This new scheme was jointly developed with the Specialist Trade Alliance of Singapore (STAS) to ensure a minimum standard in the capability of the suppliers. It cer fies

EVENTS

Prefab MEP produc on facili es that have the capability to produce good quality modules.

Facili es and prefabricators will be assessed on their overall ability to design, manufacture, and deliver prefabricated MEP modules for local developments.

Prefab MEP can offer up to 70% onsite manpower savings and has gained trac on within the industry over the past two years.

Prefabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Manufacturer Accredita on Scheme Background One key focus area iden fied under the construc on industry transforma on map for the sector is Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA).

DfMA encompasses a con nuum of technologies covering structural, architectural and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) works. Prefabricated MEP is within the DfMA technology con nuum and can offer up to 70% manpower savings at the trade level. This technology is already being used in countries such as UK, US, Korea and Japan.

The Prefabricated MEP ecosystem in Singapore has been developing exponen ally over the past 2 years.

Back in 2016, a joint BCA-industry team embarked on the first prefab MEP overseas learning journey to the United Kingdom (UK).

Since then, there has been an increasing number of projects in Singapore adop ng this new technology.

As of today, there are at least 16 large-scale projects, such as the Global Switch Data Centre and CapitaSpring, which have incorporated prefab MEP in their design.

To meet this step-up in demand, BCA has also been working to ensure that there are sufficient and competent suppliers in the market. Over the past one year, BCA has worked closely with STAS to develop an accredita on scheme to ensure a minimum standard in the capability of the suppliers.

A focus on produc on technologies at Intersolar and ees Europe 2019 Solar energy is playing an increasingly dominant role in the energy industry. Forecasts for 2018 an cipated that new solar power systems with a capacity of around 100 GW would be installed worldwide. The trade associa on SolarPower Europe even predicts that, within the next five years, more than 1,000 GW of PV power will be installed. This upward trend is being driven by innova ve and cost-effec ve produc on technologies, a rapid rate of progress, and guaranteed quality and reliability.

The outlook for the storage market is equally promising. Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that the annual installa on rate of sta onary storage devices will increase significantly, by 2030. Another factor driving growth in the ba ery market is the rapid expansion of e-mobility.

The combina on of a booming market, pressure to innovate, and plans for new produc on plants around the world means that manufacturers now need to expand produc on and u lise the latest technologies.

With the upward trend expected to con nue in the coming years, Intersolar and ees Europe 2019 will focus more closely on produc on technologies.

The two energy exhibi ons, which will be held from 15 to 17 May 2019, in Munich, Germany, will dedicate a whole hall to this topic, for the first me. And at the Produc on Technologies Forum, a endees can gain first-hand knowledge of the latest developments and innova ons.

Intersolar and ees Europe 2019 are expected to a ract exhibitors and trade visitors from over 160 countries.

Objec ve The new Prefab MEP MAS aims to recognise Prefab MEP produc on facili es that have the capability to produce good quality modules.

Requirements Facili es and prefabricators will be assessed based on their overall ability to design, coordinate and manufacture prefabricated MEP modules for local developments.

There are two evalua on stages under the Prefab MEP MAS, namely Stage 1 Documenta on Audit and Stage 2 Plant Audit. Stage 1 assesses process management, resource planning and document control, while Stage 2 assesses design capabili es, staff qualifica ons and quality control measures.

Intersolar and ees Europe 2019 will reserve an en re hall for the presenta on of produc on technologies.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

27

COVER STORY

LIGHT FIDELITY TECHNOLOGY ENABLES BROADBAND INTERNET

CONNECTION THROUGH LIGHT WAVES It is said to offer several benefits.

Signify (formerly, Philips Ligh ng) is now offering Light Fidelity (LiFi), a technology in which high quality LED ligh ng provides a broadband Internet connec on through light waves. The company is ofering LiFi-enabled luminaires from its exis ng office ligh ng por olio.

Icade, the French real estate investment company, is pilo ng the ground-breaking technology in its smart office in La Defense, Paris.

Benefits of LiFi LiFi is a two-way, high-speed wireless technology similar to WiFi but uses light waves instead of radio waves to transmit data. While radio frequencies are becoming congested, the visible light spectrum is an untapped resource with a large bandwidth suitable for the stable simultaneous connec on of a vast array of Internet of Things devices.

Signify’s office luminaires, enabled with LiFi technology, provide broadband connec on with a speed of 30 Mb per second, without compromising ligh ng quality. With 30 Mb per second, a user can stream, simultaneously, several HD quality videos while having video calls.

LiFi is said to offer addi onal benefits, compared to WiFi, as it can be used in places where radio frequencies may interfere with equipment, such as in hospitals, or where WiFi signals cannot reach or are weak, such as underground. Other user cases include environments demanding high security, for example, the back office of a financial ins tu on or government agency. LiFi adds an extra layer of security as light cannot pass through solid walls like an open WiFi system.

To connect to LiFi, it is necessary to have the device to be in the pool of light created by the LED luminaire and to have a personalised USB access key. The addi onal security that LiFi offers is further enhanced by the selec ve authorisa on of USB access keys.

LiFi can take up-to 15 users within the coverage beam of one light point.

Signify In May 2018, Philips Ligh ng N V changed its name to Signify N V, following the amendment of the company’s ar cles of associa on.

Signify will con nue to use the Philips brand for its products under the exis ng licensing agreement with Royal Philips. The company expects the name change to be implemented in all the countries where it is ac ve, by the beginning of 2019.

Founded as Philips, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the company has led the ligh ng industry with innova ons that have served professional and consumer markets for more than 127 years.

With opera ons in more than 70 countries and employing 32,000 people, worldwide, the company generated sales of EUR 7 billion and invested EUR 354 million in research & development, in 2017.

When the light is on, the LED starts to transmit data to the LiFi USB access key or dongle.

Each luminaire is equipped with a built-in modem that modulates the light at speeds impercep ble to the human eye. The light is detected by a LiFi USB key/dongle plugged into the socket of a laptop or tablet. In the future, such technology will be built into laptops and devices. The LiFi USB dongle returns data to the luminaire through an infrared link. With Signify’s LiFi-enabled luminaires, customers get the benefits of quality, energy-efficient LED light and a highly secure, stable and robust connec on.

LiFi has 10,000 mes the spectrum of WiFi, so it is able to connect many smart devices and mul ple users. And with a seamless handover between one luminaire to the other, it is possible to move around without losing connec on.

28

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Signify offers LiFi-enabled Philips PowerBalance gen2 and Philips LuxSpace downlight luminaires.

How LiFi from Signify works Modem modulating the LED light is integrated in the luminaire

Luminaire has to be connected to Ethernet

When the light is on, LED starts to transmit data to the LiFi USB access key/dongle

U k sends ds USB access key hr back data through t infrared emitter the

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

SIEMENS INAUGURATES NEW CAMPUS IN SWITZERLAND Incorpora ng advances in digitalisa on, energy efficiency and concepts for work spaces of the future.

Siemens AG recently inaugurated its new campus in Zug, Switzerland. The campus features a new office building with 1,000 work spaces and a newly constructed produc on building. The investment volume for new buildings, renova ons and related measures amounts to CHF (Swiss Francs) 250 million.

The Siemens Zug campus is the interna onal headquarters of the Siemens Building Technologies (Siemens BT) division. The company is not only a leading developer and supplier of products, systems solu ons and services in building automa on, energy efficiency, fire safety and security, it is also a pioneer in building digitalisa on. In 2018, Siemens BT had more than 29,000 employees in more than 400 loca ons worldwide. The company has been headquartered in Zug since the takeover of the industrial ac vi es of Elektrowa in 1998. More than 1,700 employees work for Siemens BT in Zug. As Siemens reference projects, the buildings illustrate the opportuni es of digitalisa on in building technology, energy efficiency and future-oriented working.

Construc on of the office and produc on buildings began in May 2016 and was completed in July 2018.

Building Informa on Modelling (BIM) was used in the design and construc on of the Zug campus. The digital twin, a 3D model of the building, enhanced with

The new office building of Siemens BT. 30

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

technical informa on relevant for later opera ons, is the founda on for efficient, cost-op mised and forwardlooking building management.

The campus complex is equipped with building automa on, security and fire safety technology from Siemens BT. Par cular emphasis was placed on sustainability and energy efficiency of the buildings.

The office building meets the highest requirements of the LEED Standard, earning it a Pla num cer fica on.

The produc on building meets the criteria for LEED Gold cer fica on.

An integrated building automa on system with energy op misa on, based on the Desigo CC integrated building management pla orm, controls the energy consump on and all the disciplines in the buildings. Energy-efficient heat pumps use water from Lake Zug as a heat source and for direct cooling. The campus buildings do not need fossil fuels to generate energy. The hea ng, ven la on and air condi oning systems are equipped with heat and cold recovery systems. Even the compressed air systems in the produc on building have an energy recovery system, with the energy recovered used for water hea ng. The buildings have green roofs, and the office building uses approximately 1,500 m3 of rainwater.

A photovoltaic system on the roof of the produc on building will go into opera on in the spring of 2019.

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

With its 56 m x 56 m footprint, the 7-storey office building can accommodate 1,000 employees. It has 32,000 m2 of gross floor space, including 18,400 m2 of office space and 11,000 m2 in the two-storey underground garage with 250 parking spaces. The building has a height of 25 m. The three-storey produc on building has a height of 16 m, a footprint of 125 m x 50 m, and two produc on floors. The second upper floor of the building has 120 office spaces as well as addi onal space for occupa onal training and a laboratory. Delivery docks, nitrogen tanks and waste containers are integrated into the building, to minimise noise transmi ed to the neighbouring residen al area, and to make the building architecturally a rac ve.

The campus also includes an exis ng office and produc on building, scheduled for modernisa on

in 2021. Beginning in late 2022, it will house the approximately 450 employees of Siemens BT, engaged in research and development. The city of Zug is taking over the former Siemens office building.

The new produc on building.

In this area of the produc on building, Sinteso fire detectors are produced.

‘Think Tanks’ within the office building offer space for one to four persons, for focused work, small-scale mee ngs or telephone calls.

All images by Siemens

Sembcorp expands solar power presence in Singapore Sembcorp recently signed an agreement to install, own and operate roo op solar panels on top of two Singapore facili es owned by one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry.

This roo op solar farm will be one of Singapore’s largest, with a total capacity of 6.2 MWp. It is expected to produce around 7,435 MWh of power annually. This renewable energy project will also help avoid the genera on of over 3,000,000 kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The solar farm will help power the on-site opera ons of the customer at the two loca ons, with surplus power channelled to the grid. One of the two loca ons, located in the Tuas area, will also be the largest solar installa on on a single roo op in Singapore, to-date, with more than 12,700 solar panels genera ng over 4.7 MWp. Sembcorp has also unveiled a range of affordable power plans for residen al customers. These plans have green a ributes blended in, which means customers will not only save money by choosing Sembcorp as their power supplier, but will also do their part for the environment.

Sembcorp now has 2,600 MW of wind and solar power projects, across Singapore, China and India. In Singapore alone, Sembcorp is one of the largest solar power players in the market, with over 115 MWp of solar power assets over more than 1,200 sites.

The company’s roo op solar projects here are located on top of public housing blocks, commercial and industrial premises, as well as government sites.

Sembcorp’s solar power asset in Mervadar, Gujarat, India.

Image by Sembcorp Industries Ltd.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

31

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

REQUIREMENTS OF IEC 61439 STANDARD RELATING TO THE SPECIFICATION OF ELECTRICAL SWITCHBOARDS

by Er. Lim Say Leong, Technical Director, Sunlight Electrical Pte Ltd, Member of IEC WG MT121, responsible for IEC 61439, and Convenor of WG for SS 619 Owners, specifiers, installers, suppliers, and users need to be updated on changes to tes ng and acceptance of electrical switchboards.

INTRODUCTION IEC 61439-1, available since 2009, is constantly crea ng challenges for those who are s ll not familiar with the standard specifica on for switchboards. It is surprising to see today’s tender specifica ons for electrical switchboards calling for compliance with IEC 61439 and yet having requirements like connec on and sizing of busbars to comply with BS 159, and busbars to have a temperature rise of 50°C. Copper busbars shall have a current-carrying capacity of 1000A/in2.

In some instances, specifier quoted type tes ng to BS 5486: Part 1 and stepped busbars are not allowed.

Switchboards shall be type tested or par ally type tested and compliance shall be determined by third party test authori es, such as ASTA, KEMA etc.

In fact, on the subject of tes ng, today, the tes ng authori es are commercial en es. Globally, all the wellknown test authori es are today no longer func oning as arms of the respec ve governments and are not owned by na onal u li es. For example, in Singapore, the former PSB was sold to TUV SUD of Germany, in 1990. In Europe, the part of KEMA rela ng to low voltage products was sold to DEKRA, and ASTA was sold to Intertek.

Switchboards are not controlled or regulated products in Singapore. However, it is sufficient that SS CP5 is gaze ed under the Electricity Act, and any reference to standards specifica on should be implemented, accordingly. Normally, the Qualified Person (QP) and the licensed electrical worker (LEW) of the appropriate grade are responsible to ensure proper implementa on and selec on of electrical switchboards.

IEC 61439 AND SS 619 IEC 61439-1 has been available since 2009, and Singapore also introduced it so that SS CP5 is respected with regard to selec on of switchboards for electrical installa on.

Maintaining the benchmark standards requires the laboratories to comply with ISO/IEC 17025. Hence, recogni on and acceptance of laboratories are now governed by na onal accredita on bodies. In Singapore, the na onal accredita on body is the Singapore Accredita on Council (SAC) which is managed by Enterprise Singapore.

SAC maintains the integrity and impar ality of accredita on prac ces, in order to build global trust in Singapore’s products and services, and facilitate Mutual Recogni on Arrangements (MRAs) with economic partners.

IEC 60439 allows manufacturers to market both type-tested switchboards and par ally type-tested switchboard, but it never clearly defines the criteria for par al type-tes ng, leaving many open op ons which are difficult to interpret.

STANDARD FOR LOW-VOLTAGE SWITCHBOARDS

To avoid unnecessary tes ng, IEC 61439 provides guidance on how to select groups of comparable func onal units, with details on how to select the cri cal variant from the group, for tes ng. Design rules are then applied to ensure that the most onerous set is being tested, and they are then applied to other variants that are less onerous. Three op ons for tes ng are offered in the standard.

A switchboard is deemed good only when it ensures con nuous delivery of power supply.

The key requirements are: • Proper coordina on of protec on devices.

• Ability to withstand short-circuit occurrences.

• Ability to avoid overhea ng and the resul ng rise in temperature.

• Ability to avoid disturbing and being disturbed by other circuits, in terms of electromagne c and electric field behaviour.

32

The ques on does arise as to whether SS CP 5 provides the standards specifica on for electrical switchboards.

The answer is yes, it does. It requires switchboards or similar equipment to comply with SS 293 or IEC 439, or their latest revisions. As SS 293 has been withdrawn and IEC 439 has been updated, it would mean that SS 619 and IEC 61439 would have to be used, respec vely. It must be noted that SS 619 is a modified version of IEC 61439.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Hence IEC 61439, a revised and restructured version of IEC 60439, no longer specifies type tes ng. Instead, design verifica on is the new term used and verifica on methods are put in place to enable every switchboard to be verified for compliance.

VERIFICATION BY TESTING OF THE SWITCHBOARDS This is a fast and conserva ve approach to achieve results for a specific arrangement. Using temperature rise as an illustra on, in IEC 60439, the method only tests the

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

incoming circuit and busbars, by loading to their rated current with as many outgoing circuits in a group as necessary, to distribute the incoming current to the individual rated currents, when installed in the switchboard. For most installa ons, this is an unrealis c situa on, since outgoing circuits are not normally fully loaded.

In IEC 61439, the tes ng arrangement requires the minimum number of temperature rise tests, and the test arrangement has to be made more onerous. With this arrangement for tes ng, each cri cal variant of the outgoing circuit is tested, separately, to confirm its ra ng and then the assembly as a whole is tested with the incoming circuit loaded to its rated current and with groups of outgoing circuits. In this way, the test method enables modular systems to be temperature-rise-verified, without the need to test every conceivable combina on of circuits. This would have the advantage that the modular system, rather than a specific arrangement or assembly, is verified.

VERIFICATION BY COMPARISON OF TEST RESULTS Specified in Clause10.10.4.2 of IEC 61439-1, are two methods of verifying the temperature rise performance by calcula on: Single compartment switchboard with a rated current not exceeding 630A This is considered a simple method of temperature rise verifica on, that requires checking to ensure that the total power loss of the components and conductors within the assembly, does not exceed the known power dissipa on capability of the enclosure. This approach is very limited and assumes all components to be de-rated to 80% of their free air current ra ng.

Mul ple compartment switchboard with rated currents not exceeding 1600 A Temperature rise verifica on is performed by calcula on and the method can be found in IEC 60890 with addi onal margins. This method is limited to up to 1600 A and components are de-rated to 80% of their free air ra ng or less, and any horizontal par ons must have, as a minimum, a 50% open area for connec on.

VERIFICATION BY ASSESSMENT OR DESIGN RULES The standard allows the deriva on of ra ngs from similar variants that have been verified by tes ng. For example, if the current ra ng of a double lamina on busbar has been established by tes ng, it is acceptable to assign a ra ng equal to 50% of the tested arrangement to a busbar comprising a single lamina on with the same width and thickness as the tested lamina on, when all other considera ons are the same. The other possibility is to test a 400 A outgoing MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker) and then ensure that the same frame size MCCB is being considered and other specified condi ons are met, to verify by calcula on, the ra ng of a nominal 250 A MCCB in the same enclosure.

There are strict design rules on subs tu on of a device with a similar device from another series or even another make, without retes ng. In this case, the physical arrangement being essen ally the same, the power loss and terminal temperature rise for the subs tute device, when it is tested, in accordance with its own product standards, must not be higher than those for the original device.

Design verifica on allows various switchboards used in a project to be verified to IEC 61439 Standard. Compliance of the design of a switchboard to IEC 61439-1 and IEC

Design verifica on made on a sample or on parts of the switchboard to show that the design meets the requirements of the IEC 61439-1 & -2 Note: Design verifica on may comprise one or more equivalent methods (see 3.9.1.1, 3.9.1.2 and 3.9.1.3 of IEC 61439)

Verifica on test test made on a sample or on parts of switchboard to verify that the design meets the requirements of the IEC 61439 NOTE Verifica on tests are equivalent to type tests.

Verifica on comparison

Verifica on assessment

structured comparison of a proposed design for a switchboard, or parts of a switchboard, with a reference design that has been verified by test

design rules or calcula ons applied to a sample or to parts of a switchboard to show that the design meets the requirements

Illustra on of the verifica on method that replaces type tes ng.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

33

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

61439-2, can be established, using a combina on of the following verifica on methods: • Tes ng.

• Comparison with a tested reference design.

• Assessment, based on calcula ons and design rules, including safety margins.

When making the verifica on, there is also now a consistent way, using certain criteria. The table below shows the op ons for the various methods to verify compliance - a characteris c that is verified under one verifica on method may not be verified under another method.

It is important to note the following: As design verifica on replaces TTA (Type Tested Assembly) and PTTA (Par ally Type Tested Assembly), IEC 61439 provides instruc ons which are briefly summarised, as follows, to explain each test: Design verifica on by tes ng If a switchboard has previously been tested in accordance with IEC 60439-1, and the test result shows compliance with the requirements of IEC 61439-2, then the Characteris cs to be verified Strength of materials and parts Thermal stability Resistance to abnormal heat and fire due to internal electric effects Resistance to ultra-violet (UV) radia on Li ing Mechanical impact Marking Degree of protec on of switchboard Clearances and creepage distances Effec ve con nuity between the exposed conduc ve parts of the switchboard and the protec ve circuit Short-circuit withstand strength of the protec ve circuit Incorpora on of switching devices and components Internal electrical circuits and connec ons Terminals for external conductors Power-frequency withstand voltage Impulse withstand voltage Temperature-rise limits Short-circuit withstand strength Electromagne c compa bility (EMC) Mechanical opera on

Op ons of verifica on method Tes ng Comparison Assessment

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

verifica on of these tests need not be repeated and the tests need not be carried out again.

Clearance verifica on Clearance verifica on by design may be applied, u lising a ‘safety factor’ of 50 %.

Verifica on of mechanical opera on The number of mechanical opera ng cycles for main contacts and any other parts, has been increased to 200.

Verifica on of temperature rise The test methods to verify temperature rise limits were extended and adapted to the state-of-the-art.

Deriva on is allowed for similar modules and limita ons are clearly listed.

Verifica on by calcula on is limited to assemblies not exceeding 630 A for single compartments and not exceeding 1600 A for mul ple compartments.

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

No No No

No No No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

The technical report IEC 61439-0 ‘Guide for specifying assemblies’ is based on Annex C for each subsidiary part.

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

Rated diversity factor The rated diversity factor (RDF) is now made clearer by the Table on RDF in Annex E, and the illustra on of the group of circuits in each sec on. The table is used when RDF is based on a number of circuits and when there is no established agreement.

No

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes Yes

No Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Summary of the characteris cs and allowable means of determina on.

34

Typical switchboard complying with IEC 61439 Standard.

Neutral cross-sec on The neutral cross sec on is raised to a minimum of 50%.

Agreement between the manufacturer and user Test items that are typically subject to agreement between the manufacturer and user have been revised and extended, as listed in Annex C of IEC 61439-1.

CONCLUSIONS Hence, it is mely that specifiers should be revising their specifica ons when calling for tenders, to ensure that they are doing their duty to the owner of the project.

Specifiers and panel builders of global standing are already fulfilling the IEC 61439 requirements, a er its launch eight years ago.

(This is the second in the series of ar cles being published in ‘The Singapore Engineer’, on the topic of safety and requirements for power switchgear and controlgears (PSC), commonly known as electrical switchboards, in order to achieve compliance with IEC 61439 and SS 619 Standards. The first ar cle covered the important aspects of short circuit strength).

ENERGY ENGINEERING

SIEMENS AND ST ENGINEERING

SECURE ORDER FOR FLOATING POWER PLANT Contribu ng to efficient power genera on in the Dominican Republic.

Siemens and the marine arm of ST Engineering, Singapore, have jointly received an order for a SCC800 2x1C SeaFloat barge-mounted power plant from Seaboard Corpora on subsidiary Transcon nental Capital Corpora on (Bermuda) Ltd, an Independent Power Producer (IPP) with opera on in the Dominican Republic.

The project Estrella del Mar III in the Dominican Republic will provide the customer with an efficient power genera on facility.

Under a turnkey ‘plug and play’ concept, Siemens, as team leader, will provide a Siemens’ combined cycle power plant with a capacity of 145 MW. ST Engineering will be responsible for the engineering design, procurement and construc on of the floa ng power barge, the balance of plant and the installa on of the floa ng power plant. Siemens will also deliver its hybrid SIESTART solu on, combining a flexible (gas turbine) combined cycle power plant with a ba ery energy storage system.

The SeaFloat concept, completed in the shipyard, will provide the customer with a quality proven power plant at a lower cost in comparison to a similar land-based power plant. Estrella del Mar III is scheduled to start opera on in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital city, in spring 2021.

“Our trendse ng SeaFloat technology combines stateof-the-art combined cycle power plant technology with the mobility and flexibility required by the current and future energy market”, said Karim Amin, CEO Global Sales Siemens Power and Gas. “Our vision is a future with access to affordable but clean electricity and clean water for everyone. A tough challenge to achieve, but a necessity in light of climate change and the need to provide electrical energy for the world’s growing popula on”, Amin added.

“This collabora on between ST Engineering and Siemens leverages each other‘s strength and capabili es to design, build and deliver a technologically advanced floa ng power barge. We are excited that in the end, the SCC-800 2x1 floa ng power plant will bring clean and green electrical energy solu on to benefit more people in the Dominican Republic”, said Ng Sing Chan, President, Marine, ST Engineering.

Seaboard Estrella del Mar III will be installed at the customer’s loca on in Santo Domingo. Due to site constraints, with limited free land, and its experience with previous power barges, the customer selected a SCC-800 2x1 SeaFloat concept, with two Siemens SGT800 gas turbines and one SST-600 steam turbine. This

The SCC-800 SeaFloat concept, shown here with mid-sized SGT-800 gas turbine, provides up to 450 MW. 36

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

ENERGY ENGINEERING

allows the plant size to be increased, in comparison with a land-based power plant.

The gas and steam turbine genera on sets are of single li package design for floa ng applica ons, u lising integrated base frame design with three-point mount.

For the SIESTART solu on, Fluence Energy, a company of Siemens and AES, is providing a 5 MW/10 MWh ba ery energy storage system to be integrated as part of the power plant, for frequency regula on control. This will allow the plant to operate at full capacity with high fuel efficiency.

Varia ons of the SeaFloat power plants can be used as base load, or emergency backup for exis ng power plants during peak loads or outages, and to provide a fast power supply in the event of a humanitarian disaster.

SeaFloat power plants can even be supplemented with a desalina on plant to provide clean potable water and help prevent diseases. A wide range of gas turbine frames and combined cycle configura ons are available so that an appropriate solu on that meets specific requirements can be developed together with customers.

The Siemens SeaFloat power plants use the company’s proven and reliable equipment that has been adapted for applica on on floa ng devices. While the majority of the market requests are for the successful SGT-800 gas turbine, with more than 350 units sold and over 7 million opera ng hours completed, to-date, further solu ons, based on the SGT-A65 and SGT-8000H series, have also been developed to address a variety of market needs.

SeaFloat power plants can be moved to any site that is accessible by sea or major rivers, and require almost no investment for land acquisi on. SeaFloat has been designed to be as small as possible, and is said to define a new standard in power density. Because the plants’ construc on and a large por on of commissioning are performed using standardised equipment, under strictly controlled condi ons in the world’s leading shipyards, the lead me can be short.

Construc on of the plant also does not interfere with any required onshore infrastructure, like the installa on of substa on, transmission line, and access roads.

This allows for a significant reduc on in the total me required for these kinds of infrastructure projects.

The floa ng combined cycle power plant, equipped with two SGT-800 gas turbines from Finspang, routed to one SST-600 steam turbine from Görlitz, provides a total power output of 145 MW.

Typical applica ons for the concept include power supply for remote areas like islands, the development of industrial areas on shorelines or major rivers (for example, chemical and desalina on plants) as well as brownfield applica ons.

Images by Siemens

Integrated asset performance management solu on for power plants Siemens and Bentley Systems have announced a joint technology and service solu on, consis ng of their complementary, innova ve offerings and managed services solu ons, to speed up the digitalisa on of power plants and provide intelligent analy cs. The new service, to be hosted on Siemens’ cloud-based, open IoT opera ng system, MindSphere, will combine Bentley’s advanced asset performance so ware capabili es with Siemens’ complementary technology and service exper se to empower power plant owners to take full advantage of digitalisa on, in order to help improve maintenance opera ons and planning.

Siemens’ asset performance management (APM) solu on, part of the company’s Omnivise digital solu ons por olio, covers the en re power plant, including the combus on and steam turbines, as well as associated generators and pumps, motors, transformers, valves, switchgears, and other equipment that affect plant reliability and performance. Using intelligent models based on predic ve analy cs, the solu on takes data from mul ple sources, applies domain and analy cal exper se, and then seamlessly integrates into a customer’s exis ng Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) / Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) environment to improve maintenance planning, reduce outages, and increase workforce efficiency.

APM service solu ons are tailored to each organisa on’s unique needs, based on variable factors such as plant configura on, on-site resources, equipment exper se, and plant opera ons and maintenance strategy. The scope of op ons ranges from on-premises installa on or cloud-based MindSphere hos ng, to turnkey set-up of APM - complete with Siemens asset models - to APM as a service, with a fully integrated managed service solu on set up and run remotely by Siemens power plant experts.

Digitally connec ng power assets provides insights into opera onal condi ons and leads to recommenda ons for improved performance. Image by Siemens.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

37

ENERGY ENGINEERING

AN OPEN STANDARD FOR DIGITALISING POWER TRANSFORMERS With increasing demands being placed on energy networks, the deployment of intelligent equipment is becoming a necessity.

Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen (MR), a company headquartered in Regensburg, Germany, is oering, what the company claims, is the first, open, modular system solu on for automa ng power transformers.

The Embedded Transformer Opera ng System (ETOS), as a whole, comprises monitoring and security equipment, sensors, field devices for control, regula on, and monitoring, plus superordinate fleet monitoring - in order to achieve op mised opera ons management with maximum opera onal reliability while simultaneously reducing life-cycle costs.

ETOS is said to be a prac cal automa on solu on for transformers from all manufacturers and of all ages, and is applicable to either an individual transformer or a whole fleet.

Opera ng at the field level on the transformer, ETOS forms the central communica on and data interface between the process level and the control level. To suit dierent customer requirements, it supports the modular integra on of func ons in the areas of control, regula on, monitoring, and the tap-changer drive. At the process level, it is possible to link all conven onal and intelligent sensors, as well as protec ve devices for transformers and tap changers. Even sensors from third-party manufacturers can be integrated with ease, via standardised interfaces. ETOS processes and transmits the aggregated signals and informa on using standardised control system protocols. Fibre-op c cables transfer the signals and informa on to the control level, so that superordinate visualisa on and control of the transformer fleet can take place. Users have an extensive range of op ons available in this regard, including their own SCADA and cloud systems, as well as the TESSA fleet monitoring solu on from MR. ETOS is available in a range of designs and housing types, and can be installed on any transformer, in the form of pluggable modules, a stand-alone version in a control cabinet, or an integrated solu on in a motor-drive unit, depending on the requirements.

system for power transformers that is both open and independent of any specific manufacturer. It networks and manages all the components and systems in the transformer. Its visualisa on is user-friendly and intui ve, and the informa on can be shown on a range of Mul Media Interface (MMI) displays, as well as mobile devices.

Not only is it possible to connect intelligent or conven onal sensors and protec ve devices, but all the func ons that the user requires can also be represented in ETOS, through modular packages.

In the field of energy-supply, security, including cyber security, is a top priority. ETOS provides an advanced solu on in this respect, too, covering everything from product architecture to support. It includes an integrated firewall, encrypted communica on, role-based access control, external audi ng, and product security management by a dedicated Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Furthermore, ETOS makes it possible to establish a maintenance strategy, based on knowledge of actual condi ons.

Automa on of power transformers is becoming a necessity.

Retrofi ng on exis ng transformers is also an op on.

This can include a customised, all-inclusive package of addi onal services and components, if desired by the customer. As the equipment is easy to install on the transformer and data is transmi ed via fibre-op c cables, hardly any wiring is required.

Automa on and communica on solu ons for power transformers, which are very important in the energy transmission and distribu on system, provide the answer to the challenges that are currently being faced in grid and opera ons management. ETOS represents an opera ng 38

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

The automa on pyramid.

ENERGY ENGINEERING

BIOMASS POWER PLANT DEVELOPMENT

‘CHEAP AND CHEERFUL’ OR ‘BELLS AND WHISTLES’?

by Duncan James Barker, Japan Country Manager, Mo MacDonald, Tokyo, Japan, and Yan Tardif, Thermal Prac ce Leader for South East Asia, Mo MacDonald, Bangkok, Thailand Biomass power is widely accepted as being an integral part of a low-carbon energy genera on system, as it offers poten al base-load power genera on in contrast to variable renewable energy (VRE) such as solar and wind. In recent years, it has been observed that dedicated biomass power plants typically fall into two different categories. One is a model based around a rela vely small project size (eg 10 MW), using ‘tried and tested’ technology (the ‘cheap and cheerful’ op on). These projects tend to have rela vely low capital and opera ng costs but operate at rela vely low efficiency and with rela vely poor availability. The second model involves a larger scale project (eg 50 MW to 100+ MW), using more ‘cu ng edge’ technology, eg reheat steam cycles (the ‘bells and whistles’ op on). Capital costs and opera ng costs are rela vely high, but the efficiency and availability are also rela vely high. Using data benchmarked from exis ng projects in East Asia, this ar cle presents a comparison of the two different models, in terms of the key technical and financial parameters and the overall performance of the two models from a financial performance perspec ve such as Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Debt-Service Coverage Ra o (DSCR). Based on the analysis described in the ar cle, indica ve conclusions on which project type might be more a rac ve to developers in which type of country, are presented.

INTRODUCTION Current Status of Bioenergy Electricity Genera on Bioenergy comprises the ‘traditional’ combustion of biomass in such forms as wood, animal waste and traditional charcoal as well as ‘modern’ bioenergy technologies such as liquid biofuels produced from bagasse and other plants, bio-refineries, biogas produced through anaerobic digestion of residues, wood pellet heating systems, and other technologies [1]. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) [2], bioenergy is the main source of renewable energy today, providing five times the contribution from wind and solar electricity to global final energy consumption, even when traditional use of biomass is excluded.

This ar cle is focussed only on bioenergy electricity genera on which is based on a variety of biomass and waste fuels, with consump on commonly determined by available na onal resources. IEA [2] reported that: • Bioenergy accounted for 2% of global electricity produc on supplied in 2016, totalling around 500 terawa hours (TWh) of electricity.

• Bioenergy remains an important contributor to renewable electricity genera on, contribu ng over 8% globally, in 2016.

• In the same year, cumula ve bioenergy electricity

capacity reached 110 gigawa s (GW), increasing at an annual average growth rate of 6.5%, since 2010.

• Over 2010-16, annual capacity addi ons were steady, in the range of 5-7 GW. • Globally, bioenergy accounted for only 4% of renewable power capacity addi ons in 2016. A constraining factor to accelerated deployment in the electricity sector is understood to be its rela vely high electricity genera on costs and limited scope for lowering these, from mature technologies.

More recently, the following sta s cs for electricity genera on from bioenergy were reported by REN21 [3]: • Global electricity genera on from bioenergy capacity increased 7% between 2016 and 2017, to 122 GW. • Total global bioelectricity genera on rose 11% in 2017, to 555 TWh. • China has now overtaken the United States as the largest producer of bioelectricity (with 79.4 TWh and capacity of 14.9 GW in 2017); the other major producers are Brazil, Germany, Japan, UK and India.

• In Asia (beyond China), bioelectricity capacity and genera on con nued to rise in Japan, with the country’s capacity for dedicated biomass plants increasing 14%, to reach 3.6 GW in 2017, and genera on totalled 37 TWh, a 16% increase from 2016.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

39

ENERGY ENGINEERING

largest generator, with the rest of Asia, North America and Europe outside the European Union also growing strongly.

Typical Biomass Power Project Sizes

Figure 1: Global Bio-Power Genera on by Region, 2007-2017 [3].

Despite a lower share of capacity addi ons compared to variable renewable energy (VRE) technologies, bioenergy remains an important contributor to renewable electricity genera on and, within OECD countries, the average bioenergy capacity factor in 2015 was 50%, compared with 13% for solar PV and 26% for onshore wind [2].

Higher genera on costs compared to VRE technologies need to be balanced against the dispatchable nature of some bioenergy electricity technologies and the poten al for wider benefits associated with rural development, enhanced waste management and job crea on across the fuel supply chain [2].

Future Prospects of Bioenergy Electricity Genera on In the IEA 2° C Scenario (2DS), the contribu on of bioelectricity genera on increases 7.5 mes between 2015 and 2060, to 3,400TWh, with its contribu on increasing from 2% of total genera on in 2015, to over 7% by 2060 [2]. This implies a significantly higher growth rate than currently being achieved is sustained through the years un l 2060 [2].

Asia is expected to replace Europe as the largest market for bioenergy electricity deployment, due to a combina on of increasing energy demand, low-cost biomass waste and residue resources, and long-term targets in emerging economies such as China, India and Thailand [2]. Figure 2 shows the regional development of bioelectricity genera on in the 2DS. China becomes the

Historically, the size of biomass power projects has been closely linked to the biomass available in the locality of the project. In 2007, the IEA reported [4] that the typical size of a biomass power plant was in the range of 1 MW to 100 MW, due to the scarce availability of local feedstock and high transporta on cost of sourcing biomass from large distances, and with typical plant efficiency of around 30%, depending on plant size. However, in recent years, the availability of rela vely cheap wood chips and pellets from North America and Southeast Asia has opened up the prospect of larger projects being financially viable and, in recent years, a number of larger biomass power projects have included projects where former coal-fired power plants have been repowered with biomass power.

Examples of the repowering projects include: • 3 x 645 MW Drax Power Sta on, Selby, UK, which burns wood pellets sourced from North America [5].

• 570 MW Avedøre power plant, south of Copenhagen in Denmark [6].

• 3 x 120 MW Lynemouth Power Sta on, Lynemouth, UK, which will burn approximately 1.4 MT of wood pellets from the US and Canada, which will be shipped to the UK by sea [7].

Large dedicated biomass projects include: • 299 MW Tees Renewable Energy Plant (Tees REP) which is expected to use more than 2.4 MT of wood pellets and wood chips sourced from North and South America, as well as the Bal c States, when it comes online in 2020 [8].

• 265 MWe Alholmens Kra power plant in Alholmen, Jakobstad, Finland [9] which, as of 2018, has been opera ng for over 10 years.

• 205 MW Polaniec biomass power plant in Polaniec, Poland, which is fuelled by 80% wood chips and 20% by agricultural waste, and became opera onal in November 2012 [10].

Figure 2: Regional distribu on of bioenergy-based electricity genera on in 2015 and 2060 in the Interna onal Energy Agency (IEA) 2° C Scenario (2DS) [2].

40

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

ENERGY ENGINEERING

It is noted that the scale of biomass power plants in Asia has been more modest with several of the largest plants noted to be in Japan, such as: • 75 MW Handa Biomass Power Plant in Handa, Aichi Prefecture with expected total project costs of JPY 20 billion and construc on work star ng around August 2014 and commercial opera on in 2016, u lising woodchips and palm kernel shells (PKS) [11, 12].

• 75 MW Onahama Biomass Power Plant with installaon work scheduled to begin in 2019 and commercial opera ons expected to commence during the first half of 2021 [13].

• 75 MW Kyushu Electric Biomass Power Plant in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, using 300,000 T of wood pellets per year as fuel, with construc on planned for June 2019 and opera on planned for January 2022 [14].

Objec ve of this ar cle Most bioenergy electricity deployment is driven by policy support mechanisms, and a shi to direc ng policy support for renewable electricity towards compe ve, cost-driven auc ons is evident in many markets [2]. In this increasingly compe ve environment, developers of biomass power plants are seeking to find the most cost-compe ve solu on. In recent years, it has been observed that dedicated biomass power plants typically fall into two different categories. One is a model based around a rela vely small project size (10 MW) using ‘tried and tested’ technology (the ‘cheap and cheerful’ op on). These projects tend to have rela vely low capital and opera ng costs, but operate at rela vely low efficiency and with rela vely poor availability. The second model involves a larger scale project (50 MW - 100+ MW), using more ‘cu ng edge’ technology, eg reheat steam cycles (the ‘bells and whistles’ op on).

Capital costs and opera ng costs are rela vely high, but the efficiency and availability are also rela vely high.

The objec ve of this ar cle is to compare the financial and technical performance of the two models, so that power plant developers can understand the benefits and drawbacks of the different models, and can apply this knowledge to the development of their own biomass power plant projects. Using the project loca ons of Thailand and Japan as the test cases, given that both countries have recently provided support for bioenergy electricity genera on, the ques ons that this ar cle seeks to answer are: • If I am a developer (and I have the choice) should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project in a country such as Thailand or a ‘bells and whistles’ project in a country such as Japan? What gives me the best return?

• If I am developing a biomass plant in a country such as Thailand, should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project or a ‘bells and whistles’ project? What gives me the best return?

• If I am developing a biomass plant in a country such as Japan, should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project or a ‘bells and whistles’ project? What gives me the best return?

It is important to highlight that this ar cle offers purely the ‘develop’ perspec ve and does not a empt to address / evaluate sustainability considera ons that should nevertheless be a key considera on of policy makers to encourage / constrain biomass power development in order to: (i) drive sustainable fuel sourcing, (ii) achieve sustainable levels of biomass power genera on within the overall genera on mix, and (iii) limit GHG emissions.

‘CHEAP AND CHEERFUL’ OPTION The ‘cheap and cheerful’ op on can be thought of as a plant with rela vely low steam pressure and temperature condi ons, consis ng of a single incinerator and associated grate/furnace, a single steam generator (boiler), a single steam turbine generator and other balance of plant systems including fuel and ash handling systems, cooling tower, flue gas treatment system and water treatment plant. In Thailand, for example, biomass projects with a capacity of less than 10 MW do not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), hence it has been common for projects to be designed to be capable of genera ng a gross capacity of 9.9 MW with a net capacity of around 8.9 MW, for export of up to 8.0 MW under Thailand’s Very Small Power Producer programme. A typical process flow diagram for this type of plant is shown in Figure 3.

Other typical technical features of this type of biomass power plant are contained in Table 1.

Due to the rela vely straigh orward nature of these projects, it is common to see this type of biomass plant constructed within a period of 18-24 months.

Other notable opera ng characteris cs include: • It o en incurs rela vely elevated outage rates, due to grid unavailability since connec ng at low voltage level where the electrical interface can be less reliable.

• High variability in plant’s performance since the feedstock availability in the vicinity of the plant is typically seasonal, with varying parameters and moisture content, notably during the monsoon season.

• Opera ons staff of around 45, however, this varies per country.

• Major maintenance events every 4-5 years.

Steam Drum Boiler

Stack

Super Heater

ESP Furnace Biomass Fuel

Flue Gas High Pressure Steam

Economizer

Generator

Boiler Feed Water Pump

Condenser

Figure 3: Typical process flow diagram for a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass power plant.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

41

ENERGY ENGINEERING

Parameter

Typical value

Feedstock

Mul -fuel including bagasse, wood chips, eucalyptus bark, rice husk, cassava rhizome and empty fruit bunches (EFB)

Feedstock calorific value 1,300 to 2,750 kcal/kg LHV Combustor / Boiler type Moving grate, some mes with adiaba c combus on chamber Feedstock flowrate

20 - 30 tonnes per hour

Excess air

40%

Feedwater temperature at the inlet of the economiser

130°C

Type of steam turbine

horizontal, single cylinder, condensing

• 20 MW Wi enberg-Piesteritz (Germany) [16]

Inlet steam to steam turbine

66 bar(a), 480°C

• 27.8 MW Cramlington plant (UK) [17]

Air Pollu on Control

Flue Gas Recircula on (for NOx) ESP for par culates

Total ash produc on rate

circa 460 to 720 kg/hr

Total auxiliary load

circa 10% of gross power output

Gross Heat Rate

circa 13,000 kJ/kWh (when combus ng low calorific agriculture waste)

Gross Efficiency

27.7% LHV [2]

• 20 MW Bischofferode (Germany) [15]

• 66 MWth Simmering, Vienna (Austria) [18] • 20 MW Koenigs Wusterhausen (Germany) [19] Parameter

Typical value

Feedstock

Wood pellet and Palm Kernel Shells (PKS)

Feedstock calorific value

4,500 kcal/kg LHV

Source: Mo MacDonald unless stated otherwise

Table 1: Typical technical features of a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass power plant.

Feedstock flowrate

‘BELLS AND WHISTLES’ OPTION

circa 400,000 – 480,000 tonnes per year (for 100 MW)

Boiler type

Circula ng fluidized bed (CFB)

Type of steam turbine

High and low pressure two-cylinder reheat condensing turbine

Main Steam Pressure

140 to 160 Bar

Main Steam Temperature

540°C to 560°C

Reheat Steam Pressure

30 to 40 Bar

Reheat Steam Temperature

540°C to 560°C

Air Pollu on Control

Bag filters or ESP for par culates

Total ash produc on rate

circa 4,500 to 7,000 tons/year

Total auxiliary load

circa 8% of gross power output

Gross Heat Rate

circa 8,890 kJ/kWh

Gross Efficiency

40.5%

In contrast, the ‘bells and whistles’ op on can be thought of as a more sophis cated plant opera ng with greater steam pressure and temperature, consis ng of a Circula ng Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler, turbine generator and other balance of plant systems with the notable addi on of steam reheat within the steam cycle (Figure 4). The process operates by employing: • A reheater (shown as ‘Reheat’ in Figure 4) which returns steam a er working at the high-pressure turbine to the boiler, then reheats and supplies such steam to the medium- and low-pressure turbines, with the aim of enhancing heat efficiency and to prevent corrosion of turbine vane by improving dryness.

• An economiser (shown as ‘Economizer’ in Figure 4) which heats up boiler feed-water by use of the remaining heat in the flue gas, with the aim of enhancing the efficiency of the whole plant.

Stack

Steam Drum Super Heater

ESP

Reheat High Pressure Steam

Intermediate Low Pressure Steam Pressure Steam

Economizer Biomass Fuel

CFB Boiler

Generator

Flue Gas HPT HPT

Boiler Feed Water Pump

Condenser

Figure 4: Typical process flow diagram for a ‘bells and whistles’ biomass power plant.

42

The reheat design has been successfully used to improve plant efficiency in large (ie several 100 MW) scale fossilfired power plants for many years, but had not been considered at smaller scales un l rela vely recently, due to increasing biomass prices and the subsequent commercial pressures to have more efficient plants.

Examples of biomass power projects with reheat design of capacity <50 MW are rare, but a small number of plants have been built (or are being built) in Europe, such as:

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Source: Mo MacDonald

Table 2: Typical technical features of a ‘bells and whistles’ biomass power plant.

These projects incur greater capital costs than smaller units, due to the reheat systems but also due to more expensive alloys required for the boiler tubes to deal with higher steam parameters.

Other notable opera ng characteris cs include: • Rela vely long scheduled outages, due to the frequent need to remediate boiler refractories.

• Opera ons staff of around 80, however, this varies according to the country.

• Major maintenance events every 5 years.

ENERGY ENGINEERING

ASSUMPTIONS USED IN DEVELOPING SIMPLE FINANCIAL MODELS In order to address the objec ves of the ar cle, two financial models, each with two cases, were created, so as to test the following scenarios (as of 2018): • Case 1: ‘Cheap and cheerful’ in Thailand.

• Case 2: ‘Cheap and cheerful’ in Japan.

• Case 3: ‘Bells and whistles’ in Thailand.

• Case 4: ‘Bells and whistles’ in Japan.

Key technical parameters applied to the models are shown in Table 3.

Addi onal technical parameters that were considered for the modelling exercise (although not described in detail here) include: • Availability.

• Capacity and efficiency degrada on.

• Capacity factor.

• Fixed and variable O&M costs (including ash disposal costs).

• Development costs.

• Commissioning costs.

• Development and opera onal con ngency.

• Ini al spare parts costs.

• Fuel cost and transporta on costs.

• Infla on rates.

• Insurance costs.

• Interest rates and financing costs.

• Electricity sale rates, as of 2018.

• Currency exchange rates, as of 2018.

Land purchase and prepara on costs can vary significantly, subject to the geographical loca on of the site, geotechnical condi ons and prior land use - for instance, if the project is to be erected on a greenfield or brownfield site.

Similarly, the costs associated with the electrical transmission line can change, depending on the specific route and distance to the proposed connec on point, itself subject to the outcome of grid studies.

In order to provide a compara ve analysis of the merits of developing either a low-cost or a more sophis cated plant, a levellised approach was taken for the land and electrical interface costs, as a func on of plant size and loca on.

CASH FLOW ANALYSIS The result of the evalua on is shown in Table 4.

Parameter

Unit

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Case 4

Country

N/A

Thailand

Japan

Thailand

Japan

Capacity (Gross)

MWe

9.9

9.9

100.0

100.0

Capacity (Net)

MWe

8.9

8.9

92.0

92.0

Feedstock

N/A

Feedstock hea ng value (LHV)

kcal / kg

1,345

1,345

4,000

4,000

Efficiency (Net – LHV)

%

24.5

24.5

43

43

Specific EPC Price (excluding tax considera ons)

USD/kW (net)

2,240

3,100

2,570

3,570

Construc on period

months

24

24

40

40

Project life

years

20

20

20

20

Wood chips and wood residue blend

Wood pellets

Source: Mo MacDonald

Table 3: Technical Parameters for Financial Models.

Parameter

Unit

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Case 4

Country

N/A

Thailand

Japan

Thailand

Japan

Capacity (Gross)

MWe

9.9

9.9

100.0

100.0

Indica ve Project IRR - Unlevered Before Income Tax

%

9.7

11.6

Nega ve IRR

6.5

Indica ve DSCR Average

N/A

1.1

1.5

0.3

1.7

Indica ve DSCR Minimum

N/A

0.9

1.2

-1.3

1.3

Source: Mo MacDonald

Table 4: Results of Cash Flow Analysis.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

43

ENERGY ENGINEERING

The capital outlay, opera ng phase expenditures and total cash flow for each case is presented in Figure 5.

CONCLUSIONS Based on the analysis undertaken and presented in this paper, the conclusions against the objec ves set are as follows: • If I am a developer (and I have the choice), should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project in a country such as Thailand or a ‘bells and whistles’ project in a country such as Japan? What gives me the best return?

Based on the result of this highlevel modelling exercise, a ‘cheap and cheerful biomass’ project in Thailand would be the preferable alterna ve to a ‘bells and whistles’ project in Japan. This is based on an assump on of a project being implemented under Thailand’s Semi-Firm Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) programme announced by the ERC [20].

‘Semi-Firm’ is a project where the project is required to meet minimum capacity requirements during the months of March to June.

However, the drawback of this Semi-Firm scheme is that it requires the plant to provide dependable power supply during peak periods (in accordance with Thailand’s ERC’s defini on). and for the power output of the plant to be reduced to 65% of the contracted capacity during off-peak periods, for instance, at night. Such an opera ng regime is not well-suited for biomass-fired projects, especially when using low calorific value feedstock. This is, in part, due to the inherently variable combus on process of such a plant, notably due to changes in moisture content and hea ng value of the feedstock.

Furthermore, daily changes in output for boiler plants are undesirable, from an opera on and maintenance perspec ve, since this contributes to fa gue and creep of the plant’s highpressure parts, increasing maintenance cost and failure rates.

Source: Mo MacDonald

Figure 5: Total Cash Flow.

44

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

• If I am developing a biomass plant in a country such as Thai-

ENERGY ENGINEERING

land, should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project or a ‘bells and whistles’ project? What gives me the best return?

The present regulatory scheme in Thailand for biomass plants greater than 10 MWe includes the Small Power Producer (SPP) hybrid firm programme, albeit this is limited to projects of no more than 50 MWe. In consideration of the prevalent regulatory framework, a 100 MWe biomass plant would be constrained to a captive project where all electricity produced would be sold privately. Under this scenario, a negative return is expected and a low capex - low efficiency project is preferable due to the available incentive scheme. The returns of a 100 MW high efficiency plant, however, could be improved by implementing a Combined-Heat and Power scheme (CHP), whereby efficient use of the steam for sales as well as power can improve overall performance. For a plant in the 100 MW range, however, a relatively large electricity off-taker, as well as a large steam off-taker, would be necessary.

• If I am developing a biomass plant in a country such as Japan, should I develop a ‘cheap and cheerful’ biomass project or a ‘bells and whistles’ project? What gives me the best return?

The result of a compara ve assessment suggests that a cheap and cheerful project in Japan offers the greater poten al return to an investor. The result is based on an assump on of availability of biomass feedstock in the vicinity of the project. Due to the low calorific density of the fuel envisaged, sourcing fuel over extended distances would nega vely impact a project’s returns, on account of the increased transport costs.

DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors only and do not cons tute the views and opinions of Mo MacDonald.

REFERENCES [1] h p://www.irena.org/bioenergy [2] “Technology Roadmap – Delivering Sustainable Bioenergy”, Interna onal Energy Agency 2017.

[3] “Renewables 2018 Global Status Report” REN21 2018.

[4] h ps://www.iea.org/publica ons/freepublica ons/ publica on/essen als3.pdf [5] www.drax.com [6] h ps://www.power-technology.com/projects/avedore/ [7] h ps://www.power-technology.com/projects/lynemouthbiomass-power-sta on-northumberland/ [8] h ps://www.power-technology.com/projects/teesrenewable-plant-teesside/ [9] h p://www.alholmenskra .com/en/company/bio-fuelled_ power_plan [10] h ps://www.power-technology.com/projects/polaniecbiomass-power-plant-poland/ [11] h ps://bioenergyinterna onal.com/heat-power/ sumitomo-corp-build-75-mw-biomass-power-plant-handa [12] h ps://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp/buisness/case/ group/cc-30482 [13] h p://www.biomassmagazine.com/ar cles/15357/valmetto-deliver-boiler-equipment-to-biomass-plant-in-japan [14] h ps://japantoday.com/category/tech/kyushu-electric-tostart-biomass-power-genera on-project-in-yamaguchi [15] h p://www.modernpowersystems.com/features/ featureadvanced-c -gets-the-most-out-of-biomass-atwi enberg-piesteritz/

The commercial performance of a biomass project is heavily impacted by the magnitude of subsidies applicable as well as feedstock price and electricity genera ng efficiency. The planned VSPP Semi-Firm scheme in Thailand, once formally announced, is an cipated to provide an a rac ve basis for project development, from a commercial perspec ve. However, the challenges of modula ng the output of a sub-10 MW biomass plant, so as to meet the peak and offpeak requirements of the PPA, is expected to present significant technical challenges and can be expected to dampen interest.

[20] h p://www.eppo.go.th/index.php/th/component/k2/ item/12101-nepc-prayut17-02-60#a7 accessed 13 June 2018.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS

[21] h p://www.aseanenergy.org/blog/renewable-energypower-pricing-in-indonesia/ accessed 13 June 2018

It should be noted that for projects being developed in Indonesia, the electricity pricing arrangement [21, 22] differs, if developing a sub-10 MWe biomass power project, compared to larger plants; the former being a function of PLN’s main cost of electricity supply whereas for plants with capacity greater than 10 MWe, electricity sales price is determined by a direct selection process. The consideration of the type of project offering the greater returns potential is therefore a function of the regional electricity price, local feedstock price, as well as the result of the negotiation process with PLN.

[16] h p://www.modernpowersystems.com/features/ featureadvanced-c -gets-the-most-out-of-biomass-atwi enberg-piesteritz/ [17] h ps://www.energylivenews.com/2016/10/17/first-ukreheat-biomass-chp-plant-being-built/ [18] h ps://www.engineerlive.com/content/17623 [19] h ps://www.engineerlive.com/content/17623

[22] h p://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/files/indonesianprocurement-methods-and-tariffs-155590.pdf accessed 13 June 2018 (This ar cle is based on a paper authored by Duncan James Barker, Japan Country Manager, Mo MacDonald, Tokyo, Japan, and Yan Tardif, Thermal Prac ce Leader for South East Asia, Mo MacDonald, Bangkok, Thailand, and presented at POWERGEN Asia 2018. The paper won a Best Paper Award, under the Renewable Energy Strategy & Technology track.

Held from 18 to 20 September 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia, POWERGEN Asia 2018 was organised by Clarion Energy).

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

45

CHEMICAL & PROCESS ENGINEERING

MAKING PRODUCTS WITH CHEMICALLY RECYCLED PLASTICS Breaking new ground in the circular economy.

BASF is making significant progress in plas c waste recycling with its ChemCycling project. Chemical recycling provides an innova ve way to reu lise plas c waste that is currently not recycled, such as mixed or uncleaned plas cs. Depending on the region, such waste is usually sent to landfill or burned with energy recovery.

But chemical recycling offers another alterna ve. Using thermochemical processes, these plas cs can be u lised to produce syngas or oils. The resul ng recycled raw materials can be used as inputs in BASF’s produc on, thereby par ally replacing fossil resources.

The first batch of this oil was fed into the steam cracker at BASF’s site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in October.

The steam cracker is the star ng point for Verbund produc on. It breaks down or ‘cracks’ this raw material at temperatures of around 850° C. The primary outputs of the process are ethylene and propylene. These basic chemicals are used in the Verbund to make numerous chemical products. Under the mass balance approach, the share of recycled raw material can be mathema cally allocated for the final cer fied product. Each customer can select the allocated percentage of recycled material.

BASF has, for the first me, manufactured products based on chemically recycled plas c waste and is thus one of the global pioneers in the industry.

Technological and regulatory challenges

BASF is collabora ng closely with its customers and partners, ranging from waste management companies to technology providers and packaging producers, in order to build a circular value chain.

The possibility of making a range of products BASF is already developing pilot products, including mozzarella packaging, refrigerator components and insula on panels, with 10 customers from various industries. Manufacturing products that meet high quality and hygiene standards - that are specifically required for food packaging for example - is possible because the ChemCycling products supplied by BASF have exactly the same proper es as products made from fossil resources.

Both the market and society expect industry to come up with construc ve solu ons to deal with plas c waste.

Chemical recycling is an innova ve complement to other recycling and waste management processes.

However, technological and regulatory condi ons must be met before the project is market-ready. For one thing, the exis ng technologies to transform plas c waste into recycled raw materials such as pyrolysis oil or syngas must be further developed and adapted so that consistently high quality is assured. Furthermore, regional regulatory frameworks will considerably influence to what extent this approach can be established in each market. For example, it is essen al that chemical recycling and the mass balance approach are recognised as contribu ng to the fulfillment of product and applica on-specific recycling targets.

As a next step, BASF plans to make the first products from the ChemCycling project commercially available.

Offering ideal condi ons for ChemCycling At the beginning of the produc on chain, BASF feeds oil derived from plas c waste into its Produc on Verbund. The Verbund system creates efficient value chains that extend from basic chemicals right through to consumer products and system solu ons. In this system, chemical processes consume less energy, achieve higher product yields, and conserve resources.

BASF gets this feedstock for the pilot products from its partner, Recenso GmbH, Germany. As an alterna ve, syngas made from plas c waste can also be used.

46

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

The recycling of plas c waste contributes to the circular economy.

IES UPDATE

EIC 2018 WINNERS

VISIT BMW FACILITIES IN MUNICH In recogni on of their outstanding performance at this year’s Energy Innova on Challenge (a part of Na onal Engineers Day 2018), the winning teams from the secondary school, junior college and polytechnic/ITE categories earned themselves an overseas educa onal trip to Germany, hosted by BMW Group.

They visited the Group’s headquarters in Munich from 26 to 28 November, and were brought on a tour of the BMW Welt (BMW World) exhibi on centre, BMW Museum, as well its manufacturing facili es located in the city.

During the trip, the par cipants learnt about the company’s engineering history, product development, and its efforts on going green in recent mes. Dr Felix Klanner, who heads the Change Management Group within the Autonomous Driving business unit, also spoke to them about the future of mobility.

Par cipants pose for a photo outside BMW Welt, with the dis nct cylindershaped BMW headquarters building in the background.

Going on a guided tour of the BMW Museum.

Group photo taken before the start of the BMW manufacturing plant tour.

The museum traces BMW’s engineering and technical development throughout history. It contains vehicles, aircra , turbines and engines in concept form, as well as actual produc on models.

The exterior of the BMW Welt (BMW World) exhibi on centre. It is also where buyers collect their vehicles.

The par cipants also learnt a bit more about the Group and its contemporary sustainable engineering efforts.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

47

IES UPDATE

TECHNICAL VISIT TO

KIM CHUAN DEPOT Twenty-five IES members had the privilege of visi ng SMRT’s Kim Chuan Depot (KCD) on 31 August 2018, facilitated by the IES Women in Science, Engineering and Research (WiSER) Commi ee and NTUC. KCD, operated by SMRT Trains, primarily serves the Circle Line (CCL) and is the world’s largest underground depot.

It occupies an area of about 12 hectares (equivalent to 20 football fields), with the two-level main depot floor measuring about 1,000 m long, 150 m wide and 23 m high.

It is approximately 20 m below ground level. An expansion, which will double its capacity and also house a mul -storey bus depot, is slated for comple on by 2025.

such as power, signalling, sta on and tunnel equipment, surveillance, and cke ng.

The visit capped off with a candid sharing session by SMRT Senior Principal Engineer (Rolling Stock) Azizah Sapari. The veteran railway engineer, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years, spoke to IES members about her experiences and mo va ons, and took ques ons from the floor.

It was definitely an eye-opening visit to the depot!

The tour began with a special train ride that took the visitors straight into KCD from Paya Lebar MRT sta on.

During the ride, they were briefed on the CCL and some lesser-known features of the trains, such as its onboard ba ery supply, which lasts for 45 minutes and will be ac vated in the case of a loss of trac on power.

This powers emergency ligh ng and ven la on systems that will help to support the detrainment of passengers.

A er entering the depot, the visitors experienced a train wash as well as a detrainment exercise, where they evacuated the train through the emergency exits at both ends of the carriage.

The visitors, together with Ms Jasmine Foo, WiSER Commi ee Chairperson (first row, 2nd from le ), as well as NTUC and SMRT representa ves, pose for a group photo.

They then toured the train inspec on workshop and the automa c storage and retrieval system. At 23 m, this system is the tallest underground automated warehouse system in Singapore and can store up to 2,000 pallets and 22,000 bins.

The visitors also witnessed the train line’s daily opera ons at its Opera ons Control Centre (OCC). The sophis cated KCD OCC is the nerve centre of the Circle Line – it is capable of monitoring and controlling train movements along the line as well as cri cal systems

An SMRT Trains officer briefs the visitors on the intricacies of the Circle Line trains.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

48

BAC Asia ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 35

Marks & Clerk Singapore LLP ––––––––––––––– Page 01

IES Directory ––––––––––––––––––––– Inside Back Cover

Mul Nine Corpora on Pte Ltd –––––– Outside Back Cover

IES Membership –––––––––––––––––– Inside Front Cover

Puritas Pte Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 19

Delta Energy Systems ––––––––––––––––– Page 04 & 05 (Singapore) Pte Ltd

SBS Transit Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Page 23

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER December 2018

Singapore Ins tute of Technology ––––––– Page 08 & 09