The Singapore Engineer June 2019

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SINGAPORE

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019 | MCI (P) 105/03/2019

COVER STORY: CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR IN SINGAPORE RECEIVES A BOOST

PLUS

SUSTAINABILITY: Super Low Energy is the new ‘green’ for BCA Green Mark Awards ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING: Shining a light on swimming pool disinfec on ENERGY ENGINEERING: Hybridisa on of an Island in the Philippines

www.ies.org.sg

CONTENTS FEATURES COVER STORY

22 Clean energy sector in Singapore receives a boost JTC launches programme to generate solar energy on vacant land.

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SUSTAINABILITY 26 Super low energy is the new ‘green’ for BCA Green Mark Awards Higher benchmarks have been set.

ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING 34 Shining a light on swimming pool disinfec on Chemical-free disinfec on can improve the water management.

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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

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Design & layout by 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd Cover designed by Irin Kuah Cover image by JTC 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

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ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING 36 Low cost LNG retrofi ng challenge for a capesize bulk carrier The project proposal has presented several revolu onary changes in design.

PROJECT APPLICATION 38 Designing a polishing system to reduce mercury emissions OpenPlant improved engineering processes, saving 33% in design me.

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ENERGY ENGINEERING 40 Hybridisa on of an Island in the Philippines Par cularly in the sun-belt, the applica on of photovoltaics together with ba eries and a back-up conven onal power generator could be beneficial.

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REGULAR SECTIONS 04 INDUSTRY NEWS 18 EVENTS 47 IES UPDATE

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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 aďŹƒliates. 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.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

PM LEE CONVENES COMMITTEE TO REVIEW PUBLIC SECTOR DATA SECURITY PRACTICES The Prime Minister has convened a Public Sector Data Security Review Commi ee to conduct a comprehensive review of data security prac ces across the en re public service.

This includes measures and processes related to the collec on and protec on of ci zens’ personal data by public sector agencies, as well as by vendors who handle personal data on behalf of the Government.

The commi ee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordina ng Minister for Na onal Security Teo Chee Hean, who is also the minister in charge of public sector data governance.

Apart from the ministers involved in Singapore’s Smart Na on efforts – Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Mr S Iswaran, Mr Chan Chun Sing, and Dr Janil Puthucheary – private sector representa ves with exper se in data security and technology have been included.

Consul ng with interna onal experts and industry professionals, the commi ee will review how the Government is securing and protec ng ci zens’ data from end-to-end, including the role of vendors and other

authorised third par es.

It will recommend technical measures, processes and capabili es to improve the government’s protec on of ci zens’ data, and response to incidents.

Lastly, it will also develop an ac on plan of immediate steps and longer term measures to implement its recommenda ons.

“The Government acknowledges that recent data-related incidents have underlined the urgency to strengthen data security policies and prac ces in the public sector.

“While individual agencies are inves ga ng and taking ac on on the specific incidents, this Commi ee will undertake a comprehensive review and incorporate industry and global best prac ces to strengthen data security across the public sector,” said the Prime Minister’s Office in a press release.

The Public Sector Data Security Review Commi ee will submit its findings and recommenda ons to the Prime Minister by 30 November 2019.

SINGAPORE AIMS FOR

WORLD CLASS WSH STANDARDS A er over a year’s delibera on and 28 engagement sessions with close to 3,000 stakeholders, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) 2028 Tripar te Strategies Commi ee has recommended strategies to raise Singapore’s WSH performance to be among the best in the world.

Singapore’s WSH performance has been improving and already compares well interna onally. Compared to 2010, Singapore’s three-year average fatal workplace injury rate in 2018 improved from 2.6 to 1.4 per 100,000 workers.

Its posi on compared to OECD countries also rose 18th to 7th in this period.

The second strategy is to encourage the mindset that employers can and should create work environments conducive for good health.

Its recommenda ons towards achieving these outcomes seek to shi employers’ mindsets in two key ways, the first being to cul vate a ‘good WSH is good for business’ mindset.

Specific recommenda ons to support this include: • Developing guidelines on prac cal job adapta ons that will allow workers with chronic condi ons to con nue working safely; • Expanding access to Total WSH programmes that cater to both injury preven on and health promo on, and; • Training WSH officers to prevent risks arising from illhealth in addi on to iden fying injury risks.

Specific recommenda ons to support this shi include: • Publishing the WSH outcomes of companies, so that

The Government has accepted the Commi ee’s proposals.

The Commi ee’s view is that Singapore should build on this momentum to do even be er, to provide workers with among the safest and healthiest workplaces in the world.

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service buyers can make more educated choices on which are safer partners they should contract with; • Sharing work injury compensa on claims data among insurers, so that safer companies can benefit from cheaper insurance premiums, and; • Harmonising the criteria for public sector developers to disqualify unsafe contractors from contracts.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

MIT AND NASA ENGINEERS DEMONSTRATE NEW KIND OF AIRPLANE WING A team of engineers from MIT and American space agency NASA has built and tested a radically new kind of airplane wing, assembled from hundreds of ny iden cal pieces.

plane. The repe ve process, however, is designed to be easily accomplished by a swarm of small autonomous assembly robots, the design and tes ng of which are being studied.

The wing can change shape to control the plane’s flight, and could provide a significant boost in aircra produc on, flight, and maintenance efficiency. The novel approach to its construc on could also afford greater flexibility in the design and manufacturing of future aircra , said the researchers.

With the new design, the wing shape can break away from conven onal designs since the overall configura on of the wing or other structures is built up from ny subunits.

Studies and tests on the new wing design were described in the journal Smart Materials and Structures, coauthored by research engineers Dr Nicholas Cramer and Dr Kenneth Cheung (both of the NASA Ames Research Center), MIT graduate student (Center for Bits and Atoms) Benjamin Jene , and eight others.

Instead of requiring separate movable surfaces such as ailerons to control the roll and pitch of the plane, as conven onal wings do, the new assembly system makes it possible to deform the whole wing, or parts of it, by incorpora ng a mix of s ff and flexible components in its structure.

In fact, studies have shown that an integrated body and wing structure could be far more efficient in many situa ons.

Industry experts have noted that the most promising near-term applica ons for the new wing design are for structural elements in airships and space-based structures, such as antennas.

Another poten al use case could lie in the manufacture of the wing-like blades of wind turbines, where the ability to do on-site assembly could avoid the problems of transpor ng ever-longer blades.

The ny subassemblies, which are bolted together to form an open, lightweight la ce framework, are then covered with a thin layer of similar polymer material as the framework. This also means that much of the wing’s structure is composed mostly of empty space.

The result is a wing that is much lighter and much more energy efficient than conven onal designs, whether made from metal or composites.

Mr Jene explained that each of the phases of a flight – take-off and landing, cruising, manoeuvring and so on – has its own set of op mal wing parameters.

A conven onal wing is necessarily a compromise that is not op mised for any of these, and therefore sacrifices efficiency. Instead, a wing that is constantly deformable could provide a much be er approxima on of the best configura on for each stage.

The wing assembly was tested in a NASA wind tunnel and described in a paper published in April 2019, in the journal Smart Materials and Structures. Photo: Kenny Cheung, NASA Ames Research Center

While it would be possible to include motors and cables to produce the forces needed to deform the wings, the team has taken this a step further and designed a system that automa cally responds to changes in its aerodynamic loading condi ons by shi ing its shape..

This is all accomplished by the careful design of the rela ve posi ons of struts with different amounts of flexibility or s ffness, designed so that the wing, or sec ons of it, bend in specific ways in response to par cular kinds of stresses.

The current, hand-assembled itera on of their design is comparable in size to the wing of a real single-seater 06

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For tes ng purposes, this ini al wing was hand-assembled, but future versions could be assembled by specialized miniature robots. Photo: Kenny Cheung, NASA Ames Research Center

INDUSTRY NEWS

NO NEED TO REGISTER CONSTRUCTION

WORKSITES WITH MOM Un l recently, construc on companies had to make separate applica ons, one to the Building and Construc on Authority (BCA) for a permit to carry out structural works, and another to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to register their construc on worksite, before the companies are able to start work.

From 1 April 2019, construc on companies only need to apply for BCA’s permit, rather than make two separate applica ons. There will be no need for construc on companies to register their worksites with MOM. Informa on required by MOM for construc on worksite

registra on will be integrated into BCA’s permit applica on.

This is part of the Government’s efforts to streamline business processes.

According to MOM, construc on companies will save around SGD 1.7 million annually in worksite registra on fees as there is no need to make separate payment for worksite registra on.

The change will enhance coordina on between agencies as MOM and BCA will be using a common database of construc on sites for inspec ons and other opera ons.

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SSPONSORED P O NS N SSOORED O R E D FFEATURE E AATT URE URE

SHAPING SINGAPORE’S FUTURE BY ENHANCING SUSTAINABILITY AND POWER ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES Sustainable development is a national priority for Singapore due to its dense built-up urban environment and limited natural resources. Through its applied learning pedagogy, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) is nurturing our younger generation of industry-ready engineers to realise a green, sustainable and energy-efficient architecture and built environment to meet Singapore’s future needs.

The Building & Construction Authority (BCA) has set a target for 80 per cent of all buildings in Singapore to be Green Mark certified by 2030, with improving energy efficiency as its core goal. This requires the support of a strong core of engineers trained to harness and embrace technological advancements in the built environment, power and energy sectors.

Over the years, SIT has introduced a range of industryfocused applied degree programmes to cater to evolving demand, with a strong emphasis on skills mastery through close collaboration with industry partners.

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services) Programme Launched in 2015 and 2018 respectively, the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) with Honours and Master of Engineering Technology (MEngTech) in Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services) are the first of such programmes in Singapore.

Developed in consultation with the BCA, the programmes have been designed to cover wideranging engineering disciplines to meet current and future needs of building services industries.

Students go through training in building services with specialisations through three core competencies in: (i)

Engineering with sustainability and energy efficiency knowledge;

(ii) Building Information Modelling (BIM) skillset for building service engineering; and (iii) Building service engineering with focus on mechanical engineering work.

The curriculum provides intensive academic as well as practice-oriented and industry-ready training for the students with the incorporation of SIT’s 08

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Students from SIE (Building Services) go through rigorous academic training which is highly relevant to the building services industries.

signature Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP), a mandatory component of all SIT-conferred and joint degree programmes.

The 12-month IWSP for SIE (BS) puts students through practical training that is highly valued by employers. Continuous growth in the number of participating IWSP organisations, their student intake as well as advanced job offers to students during their IWSP period attest to the programme’s success in developing students capable of contributing to their employers even before they graduate.

MEngTech students also get the opportunity to embark on a capstone project formulated on actual work experience during the IWSP. In addition, they could obtain professional certifications in Green Mark, Fire Services Safety Management, and Workplace Safety and Health to better support clean energy and safety at their future workplaces.

In October 2019, the programme’s pioneer batch of 63 students will graduate with BEng degrees, with 17 of them also earning a MEngTech degree.

The industry can tap on their high level of technical expertise and knowledge, analytical and problemsolving skills and open up new possibilities in integrated management services. Their strong grounding at the process and system levels will also generate innovative growth pathways for the building services engineering industry.

SPONSORED FEATU FEATURE U RE

Electrical Power Engineering Programme Singapore’s rapidly growing energy and power sector, coupled with its drive towards a Smart Nation, has driven the demand for professional engineers with the necessary competencies in renewables, power generation, distribution, transmission and micro-grid control.

In 2013, to cater to such demand, SIT introduced the Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Power Engineering, or BEng (EPE) programme with Newcastle University (NU) – the first locally-offered, dedicated power engineering undergraduate programme.

The three-year programme was converted to an SIT-NU joint degree in 2017 and led to the launch of the Master of Engineering Technology in Electrical Power Engineering, or MEngTech (EPE), tailored for working professionals in the power and energy sector, in 2018.

EPE students undergo a comprehensive, industry-validated curriculum encompassing the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as business techniques relevant to the management of engineering projects.

SIT will send its pioneer batch of BEng (EPE) and MEngTech (EPE) graduates into the industry in October 2019.

These students will fulfill the growing demand for power engineers across diverse sectors including electrical power generation, transmission and distribution, renewable energy, smart grid, land transportation, power and automation.

Their theoretically-grounded and practice-oriented training at SIT has given them the technical competence and personal skillsets to manage a myriad of power engineering issues, as well as prepare them to source for smart energy initiatives and grow Singapore into a premier trading hub for gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The SIT-SP Micro-grid Project Besides training engineering specialists, SIT is also embarking on next-generation energy initiatives to prepare Singapore for an increasingly decentralised energy landscape.

In October 2017, SIT signed a memorandum of understanding with SP Group (SP) to build a multienergy urban micro-grid at the future SIT@Punggol campus, targeting zero-emission. When the new campus

As the first locally-offered, dedicated electrical power engineering programme, the curriculum is specially customised to meet industry demand in Singapore.

is completed around 2023, SIT will become the first university in Southeast Asia to have a multi-energy microgrid network.

Uniquely designed for Singapore’s tropical climate, the micro-grid aims to incorporate gas, electricity and thermal energy into a unified smart energy network. It will seamlessly integrate renewable sources of energy such as solar energy and energy storage technologies to support the main grid.

SIT and SP took their collaboration another step forward in April 2018, when they signed a research agreement on energy-saving solutions for the SIT@Punggol development.

Both parties are currently working on research projects for the Punggol Digital District (PDD), with the aim of providing students a living experimental laboratory for learning, and nurturing local power engineering talents.

SIT is also strengthening its micro-grid capabilities through the Exploiting Distributed Generation (EDGE) programme.

Launched in October 2018 at the Singapore International Energy Week 2018, EDGE allows companies and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to participate in grant calls and develop innovative new technologies and capabilities.

EDGE is focusing on the areas of micro-grid design, distributed energy optimisation and management, electricvehicles-to-grid interfaces and differentiated power-quality systems. Successful solutions tested out on EDGE will be deployed on a larger scale at the SIT@Punggol micro-grid.

Another smart energy development project by SIT is the building of a Smart Living Lab at SIT@NYP Building. When completed, the lab will improve inhabitant experiences through various smart monitoring systems and digital interventions. It will generate valuable knowledge to guide the design and development of the “smart campus” aspects of SIT@Punggol.

By continuously pushing the boundaries in applied learning programmes and championing strategic industry initiatives, SIT is empowering our younger generation to realise Singapore’s aspirations towards a sustainable future.

Representa ves from Energy Market Authority and SIT at the Memorandum of Agreement held at SIEW 2018, witnessed by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

This sponsored feature on engineering educa on was brought to you by SIT. THE SINGAPORE SINGA NGA GAPOR P E ENGI POR ENGINEER NG NEER R JJune Jun e2 019 2019

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We Help Companies to Deliver More Network Connectivity Services

Campana Data Center for a Submarine Cable Landing Station in Myanmar We wanted a supplier that we could depend on both in terms of quality and technical ability. Therefore, we chose Delta.“ Dr. Myo Ohn, CEO of Campana MYTHIC Group

The power behind competitiveness Campana, a Singapore-based company, is committed to delivering international gateways and connectivity services. The company partnered with Delta to build a containerized data center for an international submarine cable landing station, which provides high-speed Internet Connectivity among Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand. Delta’s prefabricated data center infrastructure solutions proved to defeat harsh environmental conditions, and achieved superior PUE (power usage effectiveness) below 1.43. More impressively, Delta completed from shipment to full installation in just 50 days.

data center solutions to China, Australia, Southeast Asia and other areas. The success of this project once again shows Delta’s agility and capabilities for building data centers even with a lack of sound infrastructure.

Data Center Infrastructure Total Solutions

Micro Data Center

Modular Data Center

Containerized Data Center

Power Container

Delta Energy Systems (Singapore) Pte Ltd 4 Kaki Bukit Ave 1, #05-04, Singapore 417939 Tel:+65 6747 5155 Email: ups.singapore@deltaww.com www.deltapowersolutions.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

PUB TO DEPLOY SINGAPORE’S FIRST LARGE SCALE

FLOATING SOLAR SYSTEM PUB, Singapore’s na onal water agency, intends to deploy a 50 megawa -peak (MWp) floa ng solar photovoltaic (PV) system on Tengeh Reservoir, by 2021. When installed, it will be Singapore’s first, single, large-scale floa ng solar PV system.

PUB is also in the process of installing two smaller 1.5 MWp floa ng solar PV systems on Bedok and Lower Seletar reservoirs. The construc on tender for these two projects has closed and the project will be awarded in the third quarter of this year. The systems should be in place by early 2020.

PUB is ac vely implemen ng the deployment of solar PV systems on the roofs of the water infrastructure, and also on reservoirs, in order to generate renewable energy and reduce the carbon footprint. Currently, there are roo op systems installed at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks, Bedok Waterworks, PUB WaterHub, Tuas Desalina on Plant, and the Changi Water Reclama on Plant. When the floa ng systems on Bedok, Lower Seletar and Tengeh reservoirs are completed, PUB will have a total solar capacity of some 57 MWp. These ini a ves are significant and will produce enough solar energy to power

the equivalent of 15,500 units of 4-room HDB flats for a whole year. When the Tuas Water Reclama on Plant is completed, in 2025, the solar panels on its roof will add another 5 MWp. At the opening ceremony for the Ecosperity Conference 2019, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, announced that PUB will launch a Request for Proposal (RFP) to invite private sector companies to design, build, own and operate the floa ng solar PV system on Tengeh Reservoir, for 25 years.

The 50 MWp Tengeh floa ng solar PV system will be one of the largest single floa ng solar PV systems in the world, when it is completed. It will generate green energy to power water treatment and is expected to offset 7% of PUB’s current energy requirements and reduce the carbon footprint. The floa ng solar system in Tengeh will eliminate the need to emit 28,000 t of carbon dioxide every year that it is in opera on.

Images by PUB, Singapore’s na onal water agency

PUB AND ST ENGINEERING TO COLLABORATE PUB, Singapore’s na onal water agency and ST Engineering, a global technology, defence and engineering group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and leverage digital technologies to enhance PUB’s intelligent water management system and opera ons.

The agreement covers the exchange of knowledge and exper se, mutual support and undertaking of collabora ve projects between both par es for the next five years. With complementary capabili es, PUB will provide its domain exper se in water system management, and ST Engineering will provide its digital technology and engineering system exper se and experience, to explore the development and implementa on of opera ng systems for PUB’s water infrastructures and systems.

Mr Harry Seah, Deputy Chief Execu ve (Opera ons) of PUB said, “Investments in technologies and innova on are key to our water strategy. This enables us to con nue to deliver on our mission to supply secure and sustainable water for Singapore. This is the first me we have signed an agreement with ST Engineering to draw on digital technologies and we are excited about this partnership to jointly develop innova ve opera ng

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systems to further enhance opera on from our water planning and infrastructure system to customer service”.

“To meet future water demands, water systems are adop ng innova ve IoT applica ons for enhanced system intelligence, visibility, automa on and control. We are excited about this partnership opportunity to enhance Singapore’s next-genera on water infrastructure and systems”, said Mr Chew Men Leong, Chief Marke ng Officer of ST Engineering.

At the PUB-ST Engineering MoU Signing Ceremony are, from le , Mr Ng Joo Hee, Chief Execu ve, PUB; Mr Harry Seah, Deputy Chief Execu ve (Opera ons), PUB; Mr Chew Men Leong, Chief Marke ng Officer, ST Engineering; and Mr Vincent Chong, President and Chief Execu ve Officer, ST Engineering.

INDUSTRY NEWS

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INDUSTRY NEWS

IMPROVING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF BUSINESSES THROUGH THE ‘CIRCULAR ECONOMY’

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Masagos Zulkilfi, Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, delivering his opening remarks at CleanEnviro Summit Singapore Catalyst 2019.

Company Name / Premises

Equipment / Solu on

Bosch Rexroth Pte Ltd

Autonomous floor cleaner/scrubber

Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Smart li er bin with compactor func on

Colex Environmental Pte Ltd

Smart sta c compactor in bin centre

Lian Cheng Contrac ng Pte Ltd

Ba ery Operated Cart

Campaign Complete Solu ons Pte Ltd

Autonomous floor cleaner/scrubber

UOL Property Investments Pte Ltd

Autonomous floor cleaner/scrubber

The Central Singapore (MCST 3515)

Autonomous floor cleaner/scrubber

Evershine Services Pte Ltd

Mobile Workforce Management @ PayAdvisorMobile Version 3 - Package (PAM SME)

Examples of successful grant applica ons.

SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATIONS Thus far, 32 applica ons have been approved and SGD 1 million of the grant has been commi ed, signalling a demand by companies in the ES industry to adopt ready-to-go solu ons to increase opera onal efficiency and produc vity.

CleanEnviro Summit Singapore Catalyst 2019 a racted over 160 par cipants, including leaders, technology innovators and service providers from the environmental services industry.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, opened the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESS) Catalyst 2019 which was a ended by more than 160 par cipants including leaders, technology innovators and service providers from the environmental services (ES) industry. The by-invita on event, held on 6 and 7 June 2019, was themed ‘Circular Economy: Towards A Resource Efficient and Sustainable Business’, in recogni on of Singapore’s ‘Year Towards Zero Waste’ and the opportuni es for business sectors to embrace the circular economy.

Notable guest speakers including Mr Daniel Calleja, Director General, Environment of the European Union Commission, and Mr Hareld van den Brink, Co-Director Asia, Metabolic, were also present at the event.

PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS GRANT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES At CESS Catalyst 2019, Mr Masagos announced that more ES solu ons have been supported by the Produc vity Solu ons Grant (PSG), since it became available in September last year.

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The SGD 30 million PSG for the ES industry was launched in September 2018 to help drive widespread adop on of technology across the ES industry, and encourage small- and medium-sized enterprises, mul na onal corpora ons, as well as owners of premises (such as building owners/ facility owners) to adopt commercially available and proven ES technologies, including equipment and digital solu ons (that is, ready-togo solu ons), to increase opera onal efficiency and produc vity. As part of the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS), the PSG also aims to help progressive companies transform and grow in a new manpower-lean landscape.

REVIEWED LIST OF SUPPORTABLE EQUIPMENT AND DIGITAL SOLUTIONS Mr Masagos also announced that the list of supportable solu ons has been expanded.

NEA has reviewed and expanded the list of supportable equipment and digital solutions to ensure that the ES industry continues to adopt solutions to enhance productivity and provide better services.

Examples of new / additional supportable equipment include a ride-on carpet extractor, battery pack vacuum cleaner, ride-on industrial sweeper, and a plastics washing system.

Companies can access the list at NEA’s website (www. nea.gov.sg/industry-transforma on-map/es-psg).

INDUSTRY NEWS

UPDATES ON TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS Mr Masagos also provided key updates on the transforma on efforts of the ES industry.

REGULATORY SANDBOX PROJECTS The Na onal Environment Agency (NEA) has approved two regulatory sandbox projects for trials. Launched at CESS 2018, the regulatory sandbox for the ES industry provides a ‘safe space’ for interested par es to trial innova ve ES-related technologies/solu ons with a temporary relaxa on of specific exis ng requirements.

Since then, NEA has approved two applica ons, mainly on solu ons to help achieve the Zero Waste vision and to alleviate manpower challenges in this industry.

A er a successful trial, the sandbox en ty can proceed to deploy the technology/solu on under experimenta on on a broader scale, provided that: • Both NEA and the sandbox en ty are sa sfied that the sandbox has achieved its intended test outcomes.

• The regulatory treatment for the technology/solu on for broader deployment is determined.

• The sandbox en ty can fully comply with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Project by Alpha Biofuels Alpha Biofuels has developed a digital pla orm for reverse logis cs, to match F&B companies, which need their used cooking oil (UCO) to be collected, with logis cs partners in the vicinity. Currently, UCO is collected by regular scheduled pick-ups or ad-hoc requests. By collec ng UCO with the help of logis cs partners and shared resources, Alpha Biofuels aims to improve the produc vity of UCO collec on, encourage good UCO recycling prac ces, reduce vehicular emissions and enable efficient tracing of the UCO. The dura on of the trial is 3 months - from June 2019 to September 2019.

Project by Singapore Power Group Singapore Power Group (SP Group) is partnering Gardens by the Bay (GBB) and Mursun Pte Ltd to pilot a Micro Auto Gasifica on System (MAGS) for onsite waste-toenergy conversion at GBB, using gasifica on technology.

The system thermally breaks down waste from the GBB opera ons and transforms it into solid carbon material and syngas. The thermal energy from the syngas will be harvested through a heat exchanger to generate hot water to be used by the F&B outlets in GBB. The relevant solid carbon material produced can possibly be used for hor cultural R&D purposes in GBB. The trial will take place from May 2019 to May 2021.

INNOVATION, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS As part of its transforma on efforts, NEA works closely with the industry and research community to iden fy key challenges and capability development opportuni es in the ES industry. Through engagement with the industry and research community, problem statements are iden fied and innova on calls are launched to crowdsource for suitable technologies and solu ons for development and test-bedding.

‘Closing the Waste Loop’ projects awarded Two grant calls have also been successfully concluded todate, under NEA’s ‘Closing the Waste Loop’ Research and Development (R&D) Ini a ve, announced along with the Environmental Services Industry Transforma on Map (ES ITM) in December 2017. This SGD 45 million R&D funding ini a ve aims to help universi es, research ins tutes and companies develop solu ons to extract resources from key waste streams (for example, plas cs and electronic waste) and residues (for example, incinera on bo om ash).

Two projects have been selected, under the grant call on managing plas c waste, one from the Ins tute of

Mr Masagos Zulkilfi (fi h from le ), and Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (sixth, from le ), together with Mr Tan Meng Dui, Chief Execu ve Officer, Na onal Environment Agency (third from right) and dis nguished panellists.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Project Name: Recycling of Polyethylene (PE) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Containing Mul layer Packaging Materials.

Project Name: Cataly c ac ve catalyst support using incinera on ash.

Host Ins tu on: Ins tute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences.

Collaborators: Johnson Ma hey, University of Warwick

Proposed Outcomes: The proposed solu on could revolu onise the recovery of both polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from mul layered films (MLF), and would be an ini al step to address the challenges faced in recycling the plas c cons tuents in MLF.

Proposed Outcomes: The developed technology capitalises on the metals inherently present in incinera on ash to produce a higher value product, that is, a cataly c ac ve material which can be used in the cataly c converters of automobiles. It also presents an opportunity to produce a product with export poten al and reduce the amount of incinera on ash disposed of in Semakau Landfill.

Project Name: An Integrated System to Produce Recycled Mixed Plas c Ingredients and Composites for Infrastructural Applica ons.

Host Ins tu on: Temasek Polytechnic.

Collaborator: Yun Onn Company Pte Ltd. Proposed Outcomes: The proposed developed processes will be able to use mixed plas cs that were source-separated from municipal solid waste (MSW), to produce secondary raw materials suited for use as construc on materials.

Two projects have been selected, under the grant call on managing plas c waste.

Chemical and Engineering Sciences, and the other from Temasek Polytechnic.

Two projects have been selected, under the grant call on reusing incinera on waste, one from Nanyang Technological University, and the other from Republic Polytechnic.

Host Ins tu on: Nanyang Technological University.

Project Name: A Scalable and Sustainable Process for Transforming Incinera on Bo om Ash into Green Aggregates to Significantly Reduce Semakau Landfill Waste Handling.

Host Ins tu on: Republic Polytechnic.

Collaborator: EnGro Corpora on Limited.

Proposed Outcomes: The proposal aims to simultaneously convert Incinera on Bo om Ash (IBA) to suitable construc on aggregates and meet stringent environmental guidelines for IBA u lisaon. This is in line with NEA’s objec ve to extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill by minimising the amount of waste such as IBA disposed of at the landfill.

Two projects have been selected, under the grant call on reusing incinera on waste.

The dura on of each project is about three years.

FUTURE DIRECTION As Singapore moves ‘Towards Zero Waste’, opportunities for businesses to embrace a circular economy will become more prevalent. In adopting a circular economy model, businesses need to change the way they work, grow capabilities, drive innovation and adopt greater use of technology to raise productivity. In doing so, they can also close the waste loop, to enable their businesses to become more sustainable over the long-term.

NEA will con nue to work closely with key stakeholders in the industry to bring about change on various fronts, including catalysing the use of technology and innova on, enhancing jobs and skills, and increasing opportuni es for interna onalisa on.

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A panel discussion in progress at CESS Catalyst 2019.

All images by Na onal Environment Agency

INDUSTRY NEWS

SIEMENS AND NTU SINGAPORE IN RESEARCH COLLABORATION TO OPTIMISE BUILDING PERFORMANCE Siemens and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) signed a research collabora on agreement recently to develop new technologies that aim to op mise building performance.

A joint research team will leverage machine learning to extract and analyse data gathered from building opera ons to help understand, predict and op mise building performance.

This will help building management teams and building owners enhance the performance of their infrastructure and see further energy savings and cost reduc ons.

The research collabora on will be conducted over three years, and will be segmented into five areas of work: • Data pre-processing, cleaning and collec on.

• So sensors.

• Building predic ve performance.

• Asset op misa on and automa c detec on of performance anomalies.

• Review and development for commercialisa on.

Sensors in buildings produce massive amounts of data that are not fully u lised. Currently, this data is used mostly for calcula ng energy produc on and consump on, and fault detec on within building management systems. The data will be used to develop algorithms to help forecast next-day energy demand.

Understanding the cause of any increase in energy usage could lead to the decision to alert building management teams and end-users, thereby establishing a new baseline for determining energy savings.

Siemens Building Technologies will support the research with domain-driven knowledge in equipment and

At the signing of the agreement are, seated from le , Dr Adams Wai Kin Kong, Associate Professor, NTU, and Dr Thai Lai Pham, CEO, Siemens Building Technologies, ASEAN, and standing from le , Ng Bor Kiat, Co-Director, Energy Research Ins tute @NTU, and Ma hias Rebellius, Global CEO, Siemens Building Technologies.

equipment parameters, and will use its cloud-based pla orm, Navigator, to offer powerful analyses and reports. Siemens will also collect data via its proprietary so ware proxy to aid in the delivery of work packages related to fault detec on, improvement of system performance and asset op misa on.

The research team will also extract data from the following sources on the NTU Singapore campus, to facilitate tes ng methods, and therea er predict and op mise building performance: • Exis ng chiller plants.

• Solar panels and other energy systems.

• Various buildings and offices within the NTU campus.

• Weather data from the Singapore Meteorological Service.

UAC BERHAD IMPROVES ENERGY EFFICIENCY UAC Berhad, a leading manufacturer of fibre cement boards, recently announced that it has improved the energy efficiency of its compressed air system by more than 18 %, six months a er signing an agreement with ENGIE, to make its manufacturing opera ons in Ipoh, Malaysia, more energy-efficient.

As part of the agreement, ENGIE has re-engineered, installed, and commissioned the revamped compressed air system, to ensure the supply of compressed air to UAC’s manufacturing plant, whilst also providing guarantees on quality, availability and efficiency.

UAC Berhad has improved the energy efficiency of the compressed air system at its manufacturing opera ons in Ipoh, Malaysia.

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EVENTS

JOINING FORCES FOR

END TO END POWER SOLUTIONS The co-loca on of POWERGEN Asia, Asian U lity Week, DISTRIBUTECH Asia, SolarVision and Energy Capital Leaders Asia, in 2019, provides par cipants with a single event covering the whole value chain of power and energy from conven onal and renewable genera on to transmission and distribu on, to its digital transforma on, and to how the industry will finance the energy transi on.

To be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 3 to 5 September 2019, the combina on of these leading energy shows will be an event that will include the sharing of insights by forward-thinking experts and innovators.

The event is expected to a ract over 11,000 industry professionals, including representa ves from more than 2,000 u li es and IPPs, as well as key buyers; more than 350 exhibitors who will display their products over two show floors; and more than 450 interna onal speakers. There will also be business matchmaking, mul ple networking opportuni es, and the Asian Power & Energy Innova on Awards.

POWERGEN Asia has, over its 27-year history, established itself as the leading pla orm, where the power industry comes together to share informa on on the challenges being faced, and discuss opportuni es and solu ons for advancing Asia’s power genera on sector. At the core of POWERGEN Asia is the desire to help power u li es and IPPs in the region maximise their genera on assets, and a showcase of world-leading products and services that will help them achieve that.

This three-day event offers a comprehensive conference programme focused on helping the industry navigate the energy transi on in Asia, as well as an interna onal exhibi on.

Digital transforma on Asian U lity Week celebrates its 20th edi on, having begun as a small event focused on smart metering and billing issues. In recent years, it has expanded the digital theme to include digital transforma on topics which include real- me analy cs and visualisa on, cloud pla orms, machine learning applica ons, mobile field services, smart home-business service pla orms, and customer engagement strategies which are relevant to liberalised energy markets.

Asian U lity Week is designed to help u li es meet and do business with the world’s digital technology leaders.

It is also designed to help commercial and industrial customers meet their energy efficiency obliga on to save money and improve sustainability programmes.

The topics are all closely linked with data capture, data communica on and analy cs programmes.

Race to the edge DISTRIBUTECH Asia focuses on the technical strategies to support fast-tracking renewable power integra on into 18

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

the power grids, and solu ons for effec vely stabilising stand-alone power systems. The programme includes the latest in distribu on automa on and microgrid strategies that are being developed for advanced energy markets - to highlight development roadmaps, and to offer R&D partnerships in Asia.

Major investments are being made in building the grid edge, to support a decentralised energy model. This model is supported by new energy services being developed by u li es and others, who go directly to large energy users with niche services for carbon reduc on and energy efficiency.

Financing the energy transi on To be held in partnership with the Energy Council, Energy Capital Leaders Asia will ensure the assembly of a diverse audience to discuss energy transi on from an investment perspec ve. Energy Capital Leaders Asia is dedicated to assis ng the financial and investment community to generate change and more value from the opportuni es arising from Asia’s shi to renewable energy. The implica ons of moving beyond coal, to gasto-power and clean-tech solu ons like solar and energy storage, will be discussed.

The focus is in bringing together investors and asset owners from tradi onal u li es and oil majors to look at naviga ng the finance and investment landscape to support the energy transi on.

More informa on may be obtained from www.powergenasia.com or www.asian-u lity-week.com.

EVENTS

ACCELERATING ENERGY TRANSFORMATION AT SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY WEEK 2019 The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has announced ‘Accelera ng Energy Transforma on’ as the theme for Singapore Interna onal Energy Week 2019 (SIEW 2019).

Organised by EMA, SiEW 2019 will be held at Sands Expo and Conven on Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, from 29 October to 1 November 2019.

Global energy demand con nues to expand and this is especially pronounced in Asia. The growth in energy demand will also be driven by electrifica on of transporta on, industries and buildings. This demand has been supported by increased supply of oil & gas, lowered cost of renewables and technological advancements in energy storage. However, there remain concerns over mee ng climate change commitments, even as renewable energy investments hit record highs. Against this backdrop, SIEW 2019 will provide a pla orm for global energy stakeholders to deliberate on and accelerate the transforma on towards a more sustainable energy future.

CNBC Senior Correspondent Sri Jegarajah (on extreme le ) moderated an open-floor discussion with the speakers, Zee Loh, General Manager of Shell Energy Singapore (centre) and Sharad Somani, Execu ve Director and Asia Pacific Head of Power & U li es of KPMG, following their presenta ons at the SIEW 2019 Global Launch, held in late March.

Zee Loh, General Manager of Shell Energy Singapore and Sharad Somani, Execu ve Director and Asia Pacific Head of Power & U li es of KPMG elaborated on these issues at the SIEW 2019 Global Launch on 26 March 2019.

Zee Loh presented key takeaways from Shell’s LNG Outlook 2019, while Sharad Somani shared views on the renewable energy transi on.

SIEW 2019 will kick off on 29 October with key anchor events - the SIEW Opening Keynote Address and the Singapore Energy Summit. Featuring global thought leaders, these events will set the stage for a week of discussions on energy transforma on, electrifica on and digitalisa on.

Confirmed speakers include Paddy Padmanathan, President & CEO, ACWA Power Interna onal; Tatsuo Ha a, Chairman, Electricity and Gas Market Surveillance Commission (EGC), Japan; and Datu Sharbini Suhaili, Group Chief Execu ve Officer, Sarawak Energy Berhad.

SIEW delegates can also look forward to the 3rd Singapore-Interna onal Energy Agency Forum featuring a special launch of the Interna onal Energy Agency’s (IEA) ‘Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2019’. SIEW Energy Insights and SIEW Thinktank Roundtables will showcase the latest research and perspec ves from leading interna onal organisa ons.

The roundtable hosts include the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE); the Energy Research Ins tute @ NTU (ERI@N); the Energy Studies Ins tute (ESI); the Ins tute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ); and the Interna onal Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES), Gas Asia Summit (GAS) and Asian Downstream Summit (ADS) will return as partner events at SIEW 2019. This year, ADS will include the 20

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

The audience at the SIEW 2019 Global Launch.

Refining and Petrochemical Asia Conference (RPA Conference) which focuses on core refining and petrochemical technologies. GAS will present ‘Experience Centres’ at its exhibi on to highlight digitalisa on and innova ve solu ons in the gas sector.

Singapore Interna onal Energy Week Now in its 12th edi on, the Singapore Interna onal Energy Week (SIEW) is a premier pla orm in Asia for energy insights, partnerships and dialogue, which brings together the world’s leading conferences, exhibi ons and roundtables, over one week and at one loca on.

SIEW enriches the global energy conversa on by convening poli cal, business, academic and energy industry thought-leaders to define and advance the world’s leading energy challenges, solu ons and ac ons across the energy spectrum of oil & gas, clean and renewable energy, and energy infrastructure financing.

Energy Market Authority Energy Market Authority (EMA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Its main goals are to ensure a reliable and secure energy supply, promote effec ve compe on in the energy market and develop a dynamic energy sector in Singapore. Through its work, EMA seeks to forge a progressive energy landscape for sustained growth.

INDUSTRY NEWS

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COVER STORY

CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR IN SINGAPORE RECEIVES A BOOST JTC launches programme to generate renewable energy from a solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed on vacant land on Jurong Island.

Since May 2019, JTC’s SolarLand programme is generating solar energy from PV panels installed on vacant land on Jurong Island. This is supplied to the na onal grid, thereby maximising the use of land that is temporarily vacant, and also contribu ng to the produc on of clean energy.

to powering 1,475 units of 4-room flats, for a year. The equivalence is based on 4 hours of daily sun exposure and EMA’s figure of 372.9 kWh as the average monthly household electricity consump on of a 4-room, public housing unit, in 2017.

The SolarLand Programme With sustainability at the core of its work, JTC’s solar ini a ves aim to produce and u lise more solar energy in order to reduce the dependency of Singapore’s power grid on the burning of fossil fuels. In January 2018, JTC awarded the contract for Phase 1 of its SolarLand Programme, to a joint-venture of Terrenus Energy Pte Ltd and S.M.E. Electrical Co Pte Ltd, as part of its pilot ini a ve to explore new ways to increase solar power genera on.

The plant became opera onal in May 2019. Phase 1 of the SolarLand Programme could generate up to 6.6 GWh of renewable energy annually, which is equivalent

Aerial views of the solar panels at the SolarLand site in Jurong Island. JTC’s SolarLand programme has begun contribu ng solar-generated electricity to the na onal grid, allowing consumers in Singapore greater access to clean energy.

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COVER STORY

Launch of JTC tender for SolarLand Phase 2 JTC has also launched a tender for SolarLand Phase 2, on 24 April 2019, which will allow it to move closer to the target of reaching 100 MWp of installed solar PV capacity, by 2030, on its proper es.

SolarLand Phase 2 will focus on the development and deployment of portable solar PV panels on available land and linkways in Changi Business Park, spanning an area of 11.6 hectares. JTC expects to generate another 14.9 GWh of renewable energy annually, which is equivalent to powering 3,325 units of 4-room flats for a year. This will result in an es mated reduc on of around 6,200 tons of carbon emissions per annum.

A closer look at the panels.

This will result in an es mated reduc on of around 2,700 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum.

The unoccupied 3.9 ha area on Jurong Island was idenfied as a suitable pilot site, due to its large con guous footprint that can facilitate the large-scale deployment of solar PV panels for interim use.

The operator, Terrenus Energy, is implemen ng a first-ofits-kind containerised solar PV system in Singapore. The system is a plug-and-play shipping container module that enhances the mobility of the system. The whole system can be installed, dismantled and moved to another loca on, easily. The solar PV panels in the system also use a ‘clip & lock’ moun ng mechanism. Clamps and other parts of the panels are designed such that they can be locked in place, without the use of screws. This is expected to reduce installa on me, by around 30%. JTC will be working closely with Terrenus Energy to ensure that the solar PV system is easily re-deployable at alterna ve loca ons, in the event that the current plot of land needs to be recovered.

Further, Terrenus Energy is deploying a more efficient type of solar PV panel which uses a Monocrystalline-Passivated Emi er and Rear Cell (mono-PERC) solar module.

This is a type of solar cell architecture that improves light capture near the rear surface and op mises electron capture. The advanced technology maximises energy produc on by the high-efficiency panels, resul ng in greater energy generated per square metre. Compared to the tradi onal 72-cell polycrystalline solar module, the 72-cell mono-PERC solar module will be about 18% more efficient in capturing solar irradiance, thereby being able to deliver up 8,800 MWh of addi onal solar energy, over the course of the project. The mono-PERC solar modules also suffer 1.5% less Light Induced Degrada on (LID) over the first year, and will perform be er under heavy cloud condi ons which is common in Singapore. The higher efficiency of mono-PERC modules will be beneficial in maximising energy produc on in land-scarce Singapore.

The Phase 2 tender also specifies the requirements for the co-development of a mobile substa on and mobile solar PV system with JTC. This will allow the system to be easily re-deployed in the event that the land or space needs to be recovered. It will also op mise the design, transport and installa on of substa ons and solar PV systems, in order to reduce the start-up me required for deployment and solar power genera on. Currently, exis ng substa ons in Singapore require several months to obtain the necessary clearances from the authori es, before commencement of their construc on and commissioning. Tenderers are also encouraged to propose other efficient, clean energy genera on innova ons for test-bedding with JTC.

Exper se behind the SolarLand Programme “Working on such a project has made me more passionate about energy conserva on and excited about the future of renewable energy about Singapore. Now, I find myself exploring other renewable energy solu ons”, said Mr Steven Ho, Senior Engineer, Technical Services Division, JTC, and one of the Lead Project Managers who helped launch Phase 1 of SolarLand.

“How about a micro-grid that is independent from the main grid and sustained by the renewable energy it generates? What kind of new possibili es can that bring?”, Mr Ho asks.

He also shared that working on SolarLand has not only increased his knowledge of the renewable energy industry, but has also changed his mindset towards sustainability.

Mr Tan Chee Yong, Senior Engineer, Future of Building and Infrastructure Division, JTC, was a Project Manager in JTC’s pilot SolarRoof Programme.

SolarRoof enables the direct export of solar electricity, generated from the roo ops of JTC’s buildings, to the na onal power grid. This allows consumers across Singapore to access the solar energy. Mr Tan believes that the lessons learnt from SolarRoof were invaluable when working on the SolarLand project.

“We learnt that it was very important to consult widely with industry experts to find out more about solar systems and requirements. The informa on they shared really helped us develop our tender requirements”, said Mr Tan. THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

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COVER STORY

“My involvement in SolarRoof allowed me to build connections with players in the renewable energy industry, and I was heartened by the positive industry response, when more than 90 participants from over 30 companies attended our Renewable Energy Networking Session, following the launch of SolarLand Phase 2”, he added.

Mr Tan also finds himself developing an interest in solar power systems and how they can be applied.

“The experience gained, working on SolarRoof, changed my perspectives on solar energy, and I brought this new ‘lens’ into the SolarLand project.

When preparing for the project, I proposed innovative ideas such as a mobile solar PV panel system and a mobile substation, that allowed us to think beyond what has already been done in the solar industry. It has also taught me to think of new ideas beyond solar - what else JTC can do to support renewable energy and sustainability”, he said.

One way SolarLand Phase 2 can value-add is by encouraging tenderers to propose other efficient, clean energy genera on innova ons for test-bedding with JTC, allowing for more opportuni es for JTC to embark on renewable energy ini a ves in partnership with the industry.

Mr David Chan, Project Lead from Terrenus Energy, said, “It was a steep learning curve for me when I was tasked to lead the SolarLand project. However, I am extremely grateful to be working with JTC on it. As this is the first me that Terrenus Energy is embarking on such a project, working with JTC and tapping on their experience with the industry and solar projects have really helped to move the project forward. This project has also broadened the possibili es of renewable energy, for me and my company, and has inspired us to explore more renewable energy solu ons through the u lisa on of land and space”.

Terrenus Energy Terrenus Energy is an energy solutions company dedicated to empowering consumers with clean energy.

The company started as a small photovoltaic (PV) system installer in Australia in 2014, when the Australian energy market was deregulated, and in course of time, was able to provide green energy solutions to commercial buildings in Australia and solve electricity crises in the region.

Terrenus Energy established its Singapore office in 2016, with the aim of extending its clean renewable energy vision here. The company hopes to contribute further to Singapore’s renewable energy targets by pushing forward and exploring other frontiers to generate clean, renewable energy. Beyond solar energy generation, Terrenus Energy hopes to develop innovative solutions for harnessing wind, tidal and floating solar energy, and pairing them with an advanced integrated energy system. More information on Terrenus Energy and its products and services, can be obtained from www.terrenusenergy.com 24

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JTC Set up in 1968, JTC is the lead government agency responsible for the planning and development of industrial infrastructure to support and catalyse the growth of industries and enterprises in Singapore. Landmark projects

by JTC include Jurong Industrial Estate; Jurong Island for energy and chemical industries; business and specialised parks such as the Interna onal and Changi Business Parks, Seletar Aerospace Park and Tuas Biomedical Park; a work-live-play-&-learn development called one-north; next-genera on districts including Jurong Innova on District and the Punggol Digital District; as well as Jurong Rock Caverns, Southeast Asia’s first commercial underground storage facility for liquid hydrocarbons. JTC also develops spaces such as JTC Surface Engineering Hub, JTC MedTech Hub, JTC Food Hub @ Senoko, and TimMac @ Kranji which incorporates innova ve features and shared infrastructure and services to enable industrialists to start their operaons quickly and enhance produc vity. More informa on on JTC can be obtained from www.jtc.gov.sg.

“Terrenus Energy is very honoured for the opportunity to work with JTC on SolarLand Phase 1. Together, we have built a solar farm with one of the largest solar energy outputs per square metre in the region. This is the first large-scale solar farm project in Singapore, which feeds 100% renewable energy to the grid substation. The approximately 6.6 gigawatt hours of renewable energy supports the energy consumption of 1,475 units of 4-room flats annually. At Terrenus Energy, we believe clean energy is the only way forward” - Mr Charles Wong, Founder and CEO, Terrenus Energy

“We hope that through initiatives such as SolarRoof and SolarLand, we can encourage solar companies to think out-of-the-box and propose new ideas to overcome Singapore’s constraints and generate more renewable energy. We will continue to work closely with industry partners to pilot such solutions and contribute to renewable energy generation” - Mr Calvin Chung, Group Director of Engineering, JTC

All images by JTC

SUSTAINABILITY

SUPER LOW ENERGY IS THE NEW ‘GREEN’ FOR

BCA GREEN MARK AWARDS Higher benchmarks have been set.

The inaugural Green Mark for Super Low Energy Award (GM SLE Award) was conferred this year, on 17 projects.

The projects, from seven private and public sector developers, demonstrated best-in-class energy performance, while maintaining cost-effec veness.

SLE/ZE cer fica on

Requirement

Super Low Energy

To achieve at least 60% energy savings through adop ng energyefficient measures and onsite renewable energy based on the 2005 building code level.

Zero Energy

Use of onsite and off-site renewable energy to generate more than 100% of energy needed for building opera on including plug load.

INAUGURAL GREEN MARK SLE AWARDS FOR 17 PROJECTS BCA introduced the BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy (GM SLE) during Interna onal Green Building Conference 2018 (IGBC 2018) in September 2018. This voluntary cer fica on framework targets new and existing non-residen al buildings, such as offices, commercial/retail, industrial, ins tu ons and schools, including demonstra on projects based on research & innova on efforts. The scheme aims to encourage industry to push the boundaries for energy efficiency, to achieve bestin-class building energy performance in a cost-effec ve manner.

Table 1: GM SLE Building categories.

The Green Mark Gold ra ng is the minimum requirement for SLE and ZE buildings, in order to meet the holis c environmental sustainability indicators, such as greenery, indoor environmental quality and other non-energy aspects. This ensures that the overall environmental sustainability performance indicators are being looked at holis cally, while pushing the boundaries in terms of building energy performance.

Under BCA Green Mark for SLE, there are two building categories - Super Low Energy Buildings and Zero Energy Buildings (Table 1).

S/N

Building Name

Developer/ Building Owner

Award

Samwoh

Green Mark Pla num (Posi ve Energy)

Surbana Jurong

Green Mark Pla num (Super Low Energy)

DSTA

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

HomeTeam Academy

Green Mark Pla num (Super Low Energy)

1

Samwoh Smart Hub

2

Surbana Jurong Campus

3

Development of Camp Facili es at Kranji Camp III for OES

4

Home Team Academy

5

Block 1337 Seletar Camp

DSTA

Green Mark GoldPLUS (Zero Energy)

6

Nanyang Auditorium

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

7

Wee Kim Wee School of Communica on and Informa on

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

8

School of Humani es and Social Sciences

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

9

Administra on Building

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

10

Nanyang House

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

11

The Wave

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

12

Block N1.1

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

13

Block N3

NTU

Green Mark Pla num (Super Low Energy)

14

SDE4

NUS

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

15

SDE 1 & 3

NUS

Green Mark Pla num (Super Low Energy)

16

Block EA

NUS

Green Mark Pla num (Super Low Energy)

17

Tahir Founda on Connexion

SMU

Green Mark Pla num (Zero Energy)

Winners of the inaugural Green Mark for Super Low Energy (GM SLE) Award.

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SUSTAINABILITY

NTU SINGAPORE A winner of the inaugural GM SLE Award, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has set a high standard in the GM SLE category, clinching the award for eight campus projects.

NTU Singapore has implemented a variety of energy-saving ini a ves such as the campus-wide solar energy harves ng system that generates 5.9 MWh/year and a ‘passive displacement cooling’ system which uses convec on to keep rooms cool. NTU Singapore will also progressively roll-out Smart Integrated Building Management systems that will see up to 10% energy savings from air-condi oning units. NTU Singapore is the country’s first recipient of the Green Mark Pla numSTAR Champion Award in 2016.

With more than 50 Green Mark Pla num projects, NTU Singapore aims to upgrade the remaining buildings to Pla num, by next year.

NTU Singapore is commi ed to making its Smart Campus one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable campuses in the world.

student hostels at North Hill and Nanyang Crescent are the first public high-rise buildings using Prefabricated Pre-finished Volumetric Construc on (PPVC) which allows prefabricated individual rooms to be stacked on top of each other. This method saves up to 25% to 40% in manpower and 15% to 20% in construc on me. It also reduces noise and dust pollu on onsite, as more ac vies are done off-site.

NTU Singapore is also home to The Wave, Southeast Asia’s first large-scale building that uses the innova ve Mass Engineered Timber technology which provides five mes better heat insula on than concrete. The building also comes with a host of eco-features such as a passive displacement cooling system that uses convec on to chill the air.

As part of its con nuous drive towards sustainability, last year, NTU Singapore launched a ‘oneNTU’ ini a ve called ‘ECHO’ which stands for ‘Eco-friendly, Connected, Healthy and oneNTU’, to enable the university meet its commitment to reduce energy, water and waste intensity by 35% by 2021, and by 50% by 2025, from the levels of 2011.

New and exis ng buildings come with a host of energy-efficient features which are monitored and op mised using an intelligent energy management system, reducing overall energy consump on.

One example is the exis ng School of Humani es and Social Sciences, which has been enhanced with efficient, water-cooled air-condi oning systems, energy-efficient LED lights and mo on sensors in toilets and staircases, that keep ligh ng usage flexible. Another upgraded facility is the Wee Kim Wee School of Communica on and Informa on. It has been upgraded with variable speed drives for pumps and water leakage detec on systems, to avoid unnecessary waste.

In addi on, most buildings on NTU Singapore’s campus are also powered by solar photovoltaic panels which offset up to 100% of building energy consump on.

NTU Singapore has pioneered a variety of green construc on techniques and applica ons. For example, its

The exis ng School of Humani es and Social Sciences has been enhanced with efficient, water-cooled air-condi oning systems, energyefficient LED lights and mo on sensors in toilets and staircases, that keep ligh ng usage flexible. Image by NTU Singapore.

The Wave at NTU Singapore is the first large-scale building in Southeast Asia built using the innova ve Mass Engineered Timber technology which extends the fron ers of construc on technology. The building also incorporates a host of sustainable technologies such as a special cooling system that gives students a unique sports experience. Images by NTU Singapore.

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SUSTAINABILITY

Samwoh Smart Hub. Image by Samwoh Corpora on.

SAMWOH SMART HUB Another winner of the GM SLE Award is Samwoh Smart Hub which received the Green Mark Pla num (Posi ve Energy) Award. Samwoh Smart Hub is the new headquarters of Samwoh Corpora on Pte Ltd (Samwoh). The project incorporates energy- and water-saving measures in its design, including double glazed windows on the north and south facades, to harness natural daylight, and a windowless design on the east and west facades, to reduce heat absorbed by the building. The project will also have on-site water recycling measures and leverage a smart Building Management System (BMS) and Facility Management, to op mise u lity management and consump on. Together with high-yield solar panels, which will produce about 110% of the building’s energy consump on, the hub intends to save close to SGD 180,000 a year in overall u lity bills. The project is also a recipient of the Green Buildings Innova on Cluster (GBIC) fund, in recogni on of its efforts in adop ng promising building energy-efficient technologies and solu ons.

The design for Samwoh Smart Hub began in 2017, and when completed in 2020, will allow the company to consolidate all its six current premises into a single loca on to support its long-term growth plan.

Samwoh is a market leader in civil and infrastructure construc on as well as an integrated provider of a full suite of engineering services which include the supply of building materials, the supply and laying of asphalt premix, the supply of ready-mixed and green concrete, recycling of construc on and industrial wastes, research & development, pavement evalua on and consultancy services.

The company is a registered A1 civil engineering contractor with BCA, under the civil engineering workhead.

Innova on and sustainability have been the key drivers of growth for Samwoh. A strong focus on research & development also helps to bring value back to the core business of providing innova ve and sustainable construc on.

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One of the most notable research achievements is the construc on of Samwoh’s Eco-Green Building, the first landmark building in the region to be constructed using up to 100% of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). RCA is processed from construc on and demoli on (C&D) waste, to eliminate the need for disposal and to enhance resource resilience.

GREEN MARK CHAMPION AWARD FOR LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has shown strong commitment towards environmental sustainability, in addi on to serving opera onal requirements, with a total of 14 Green Mark projects. In recogni on of its efforts, LTA was conferred the Green Mark Champion Award this year.

In 2018, LTA’s Kim Chuan Depot Extension and the East Coast Integrated Depot (Rail) were presented the BCA Green Mark Pla num Award, for their environment-friendly features. This year, the Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange received the Green Mark GoldPLUS Award.

LTA’s Stabling Yard at Gali Batu Depot and Bus Depot won the BCA Green Mark Gold Award.

Total no. of buildings rated

BCA Green Mark Champion

BCA Green Mark Pla num Champion Pla num Champion

Pla numSTAR Champion

Green Mark Gold & above

At least 10

At least 50

-

Green Mark GoldPLUS & above

At least 6

At least 30

-

Green Mark Pla num

At least 3

At least 15

At least 50

Criteria to be met to qualify for the different categories of the BCA Green Mark Champion Award.

SUSTAINABILITY

BCA GREEN MARK CHAMPION

Downtown Line

The BCA Green Mark Champion Award was launched at BCA AWARDS 2008. This award recognises developers with strong commitment towards corporate social responsibility and outstanding achievements in environmental sustainability. It is given to developers who have a substan al number of Green Mark buildings at Gold level and higher.

In 2017, BCA awarded the Downtown Line (DTL) the BCA Green Mark GoldPLUS cer fica on, the highest er achieved for a rail line to-date, for its environment-friendly features. The DTL is the second rail line to achieve the BCA Green Mark cer fica on, a er the Circle Line (CCL) was presented with the BCA Green Mark Gold Award in 2010. The assessment and grading were based on the Green Mark for Rapid Transit System (RTS) framework, jointly developed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and BCA.

Besides demonstra ng a strong commitment towards corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, developers must meet several criteria, to qualify.

Kim Chuan Depot To cater to future needs, the Kim Chuan Depot’s capacity will be expanded so that it will be able to hold up to 140 trains from its current 70. The integrated depot will also house 550 buses, which will allow land use to be optimised. The depot expansion will be completed in 2025, when the CCL6 is expected to be completed, too.

Various sustainable design strategies for energy efficiency, such as energy-efficient air-condi oning, mechanical ven la on and ligh ng, have been integrated into the Kim Chuan Depot Extension. In addi on, sustainable products cer fied under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS) will be extensively used in the development, such as ceiling boards, les, mber doors and external paints.

East Coast Integrated Depot The East Coast Integrated Depot’s integra on of four depots in one is unprecedented. The depot will comprise three train depots and a bus depot. The en re depot will be housed within a single site covering 36 hectares, thus saving 44 hectares of land. The main train depot building will span over 1 km and consist of 18,000 precast beams, each up to 20 m long and weighing up to 45 t.

To reduce energy use, natural ven la on is a key design approach that is widely applied within this depot.

Workshop spaces are also designed with dedicated ven la on sha s and supplemented with overhead circula on fans to improve comfort. An energy-efficient ligh ng system will improve energy use by 45%. A treatment system will also be in place to recycle up to 70% of used water from train washing and reuse it for train washing. The East Coast Integrated Depot will be completed in 2024.

Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange The Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange project expects to save an es mated 133,812 kWh of energy and 1811 m3 of water every year. Among the features which will help the project achieve these are a green roof with drought-tolerant plants, that keeps the interchange cool by reducing heat absorbed by the structure, water-efficient fixtures rated Excellent under WELS, and an energy-efficient, air-condi oning system.

The DTL is the longest underground rail line in Singapore, spanning 42 km, with 34 sta ons, of which 11 are interchange sta ons. Similar to the CCL, the DTL adopts a regenera ve braking system which channels the energy produced by the train during braking, to power a nearby train or train sta on. The upgraded system on the DTL shaves off close to 2% of its energy consump on a year, which is equivalent to more than three mes the energy saving achieved by CCL, and is enough to provide power to about 370 units of 5-room HDB flats for an en re year.

The DTL sta ons are also fi ed with air-condi oning systems with energy-saving features to minimise energy usage. These features will help save 6300 MWh of energy consump on per year, enough to provide power to about 1080 units of 5-room HDB flats for a year.

AWARDS PRESENTED FOR HEALTHIER WORKPLACES A total of 14 offices received awards under the new BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces (GM HW) scheme. A joint effort between BCA and the Health Promo on Board (HPB), the scheme emphasises the health, well-being and comfort of the occupants, in addi on to office sustainability.

Under GM HW, companies will have to consider factors such as space selec on and office design, opera on and maintenance, as well as occupant engagement and empowerment.

BACKGROUND The health and well-being of building occupants is increasingly becoming a major value proposi on for the adop on of green buildings and interior spaces. This awareness is echoed by business leaders and companies that place growing emphasis on employee health and well-being, to differen ate themselves as the employer of choice. In line with global trends and increasing demand for green and healthy buildings, the BCA Green Mark has been placing greater emphasis on the quality of indoor environments as well as the health, comfort and well-being of users and occupants.

To strengthen the business case for energy-efficient, resource-efficient and healthier interior spaces, BCA collaborated with HPB to develop the new BCA-HPB Green Mark for Healthier Workplaces scheme (GM HW: 2018).

The scheme was launched at the Breakfast Talk for CEOs on 7 September 2018.

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SUSTAINABILITY

S/N

Company Name (in alphabe cal order)

Project Address

1

Arup Singapore Pte Ltd

182 Cecil Street, Frasers Tower #06-01, Singapore 069547

2

C&W Services (S) Pte Ltd

750A Chai Chee Road, #05-01 Viva Business Park, Singapore 469001

3

City Developments Limited

9 Raffles Place, #10-01 to #12-01 Republic Plaza, Singapore 048619

4

City Developments Limited

9 Raffles Place, #36-01 Republic Plaza, Singapore 048619

5

DBS Asia Central

12 Marina Boulevard, Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, #03, #05, #06, #08 to #15 and #40 to #46, Singapore 018982

6

DBS Asia Hub

Changi Business Park Crescent, #01 to #09 DBS Asia Hub, Singapore 486029

7

Facility Link Pte Ltd

4 Sungei Kadut Cresent, Singapore 728688

8

Hongkong Land (Singapore) Pte Ltd

One Raffles Quay, South Tower #22-10, Singapore 048583

9

Keppel Capital Interna onal Pte Ltd

1 HarbourFront Avenue, #10-01, #11-01, Keppel Bay Tower, Singapore 098632

10

Keppel Corpora on Limited

1 HarbourFront Avenue, #12-01, #18-01 Keppel Bay Tower, Singapore 098632

11

Keppel Land

1 HarbourFront Avenue #02-02/10 Keppel Bay Tower Singapore 098632

12

Pruden al Singapore

7 Straits View, #06-01 Marina One East Tower, Singapore 018936

13

Raffles Quay Asset Management Pte Ltd

1 Raffles Quay, #19-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583

14

Camfil Singapore Pte Ltd

8 Kallang Avenue, #12-06/07 Aperia Tower 1, Singapore 339509

Accorded Green Mark Ra ng

Pla num

GoldPLUS

Companies that have so far been cer fied under the GM HW scheme.

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RATIONALE

GM HW: 2018

With the World Green Building Council’s reports, ‘Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices: The Next Chapter for Green Buildings’ (September 2014) and ‘Building the Business Case: Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Offices’ (October 2016), indicating that 90% of business operating costs are related to human capital costs, the productivity of staff is of paramount interest and concern to any company. The new GM HW scheme will appeal to companies that place emphasis on both health and well-being, in addition to environmental sustainability in the office. The GM HW scheme aims to provide a clearer and stronger business case for office sustainability, by placing occupants’ health, well-being and comfort at the forefront of office design and daily operations. It also seeks to create a supportive environment through the establishment of workplace health structures, policies and programmes. The inclusion of criteria that also looks at health and well-being, will make the value proposition for green interiors more compelling and personal from the user’s angle.

To align with the latest Green Mark Schemes, five key sec ons of GM HW: 2018 will guide companies through the thought process of space selec on and office design, opera on and maintenance, as well as occupant engagement and empowerment: • Sustainable Design and Management • Energy and Resource Management • Office Environment • Workplace Health and Well-Being • Advanced Green and Health Features

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

The BCA-HPB GM HW: 2018 scheme has replaced the BCA Green Mark for Office Interior (Version 1.1) scheme, with effect from 1 April 2019.

INCENTIVES AND GRANTS For early movers, a comprehensive suite of incen ves and programmes are made available by HPB to help companies. Eligible projects can tap on HPB’s SME Health+ which supports Small and Medium Enterprises

SUSTAINABILITY

(SMEs) in their health and fitness ini a ves for employees, and the Workplace Alliance for Health (WAH) Scheme which serves to increase the adop on of workplace health programmes amongst medium to large private corpora ons.

KEPPEL GROUP Keppel Corpora on, Keppel Capital and Keppel Land, three en es under the Keppel Group, all received the GM HW (Pla num) Award. The workspaces of the three en es, at Keppel Bay Tower, have been enhanced with a suite of green and healthy features, to improve energy efficiency as well as staff health and well-being. The new offices incorporate demand control strategies to minimise wastage. These include smart ligh ng systems that u lise occupancy sensors to con nuously adjust ligh ng levels according to occupancy load, photosensors that dim perimeter ligh ng when there is sufficient daylight, as well as copiers with secure prin ng features which help reduce paper wastage.

The offices have also adopted a fully agile workplace concept, with no assigned sea ng for staff, enabling more effec ve and dynamic space usage.

Further, the entities have shown encouraging efforts to promote active functioning in the office spaces, with sit-stand desks and internal staircases within their premises, as well as promote healthier eating through provision of discounts at nearby healthier food establishments.

Impressive performance The Keppel Group garnered a total of 14 awards at BCA AWARDS 2019.

Keppel Land received 11 awards, including the prestigious BCA Quality Excellence Award - Quality Champion (Platinum), BCA Green Mark Platinum Awards for Keppel Bay Tower and International Financial Centre Jakarta Tower 2, and BCA Universal Design Mark Gold PLUS Award for Highline Residences, as well as the BCA Universal Design Mark Gold Award for The Glades.

Keppel Land won the BCA Quality Excellence Award Quality Champion (Pla num) in recogni on of its commitment to and achievement in developing high-quality homes.

Keppel Bay Tower received the BCA Green Mark Pla num Award for the energy-efficient features incorporated within the development. These include a high-efficiency chiller plant system, the use of water-efficient fi ngs and fixtures, as well as the use of energy-efficient LED ligh ng.

International Financial Centre Jakarta Tower 2 achieved the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award for the innovative green technology incorporated within the development. Some of the sustainable features of the office tower include the recycling of rainwater for irrigation, the use of water- and energy-effi-

cient fittings, and the installation of double-glazed, low-emission glass.

Highline Residences received the BCA Universal Design Mark GoldPLUS Award for its features which enhance user-friendliness, accessibility, connec vity and safety.

Such features include a landscaped green deck located at the roof level of the low-rise block, which is integrated with communal facili es and provides seamless connec on to the tower blocks. The development also features roo op urban farms which are available for residents, and planter beds which are accessible to wheelchair users.

The Glades is a condominium that received the BCA Universal Design Mark Gold Award for features such as a fully-equipped, net-zero energy clubhouse, as well as unique and though ul architecture, complemented by natural terrains and greenery, ver cal green walls and water features.

Ocean Financial Centre, a 43-storey premium Grade A CBD office tower, in which Keppel REIT has a majority interest, received the BCA Green Mark Pla num Award for sustainable features, including an innova ve rainwater collec on system and the use of renewable

QUALITY EXCELLENCE AWARD - QUALITY CHAMPION (PLATINUM) Keppel Land GREEN MARK PLATINUM AWARD Keppel Bay Tower, Singapore Ocean Financial Centre, Singapore Interna onal Financial Centre Jakarta Tower 2, Jakarta, Indonesia GREEN MARK GOLDPLUS AWARD The Garden Residences, Singapore GREEN MARK GOLD AWARD Waterfront Residences, Tianjin, China Saigon Centre – Retail Mall, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Saigon Centre – Tower 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Palm Residence, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam BCA-HPB GREEN MARK FOR HEALTHIER WORKPLACES PLATINUM AWARD Keppel Corpora on Keppel Land Keppel Capital UNIVERSAL DESIGN MARK GOLDPLUS AWARD Highline Residences, Singapore UNIVERSAL DESIGN MARK GOLD AWARD The Glades, Singapore Awards won by the Keppel Group at BCA AWARDS 2019.

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31

SUSTAINABILITY

energy sources such as solar energy harvested by solar panels atop the building, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

DBS BANK LTD DBS Bank Ltd clinched two GM HW (Pla num) Awards for its offices DBS Asia Central and DBS Asia Hub. In addi on to managing ligh ng, energy- and water-efficiency, the offices have an open and flexible layout with the op on of an ac vity-based design that enables staff to interact more, foster innova on and drive collabora on.

There is strong commitment to health and wellbeing of occupants, by the senior management, through launching ini a ves ranging from a variety of sports interest groups to online health coaching tools to encourage employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

In 2017, DBS was the first Asian bank and first Singapore company to join the global renewable energy ini a ve RE100.

The bank has also commi ed to using 100% renewable energy for its Singapore opera ons, by 2030. To meet this target, DBS has engaged in three major ini a ves - opera ng its own solar energy installa on, procuring renewable energy, and driving energy efficiencies across the organisa on. The solar panels now generate 460 MWh annually and power DBS’ Changi Business Park opera ons. DBS has ac vely adopted energy efficiency enhancements such as LED lights, energy-efficient equipment and enhanced building controls in their opera ons.

The bank has incorporated best prac ces in its environmental design, water efficiency, sustainable management and opera ons, and other green features to reduce its environmental footprint.

DBS has adopted ac vity-based and biophilic design in its office by incorpora ng ergonomic design features and furniture.

As part of its sustainability agenda, DBS is focused on improving staff awareness around adop ng a green mindset at work and in their personal lives.

In Singapore, all DBS and POSB branches have obtained BCA Green Mark Cer fica ons. They have achieved a total of 75 BCA Green Mark Cer fica ons for their Singapore retail branches, comprising 10 Pla num, 40 GoldPLUS, 18 Gold and 7 Green Mark Cer fica ons. Two of the major office premises, DBS Asia Central and DBS Asia Hub received the highest Pla num Award.

GREEN MARK PUTS LOCAL CONSULTANT FIRMS ON THE WORLD MAP The BCA Green Mark has achieved interna onal recogni on since it was launched 14 years ago. To-date, some 300 projects across 80 ci es have a ained the Green Mark cer fica on. Singapore consultants are expor ng their exper se to help meet the strong overseas demand for green buildings.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

G-ENERGY GLOBAL PTE LTD G-Energy Global Pte Ltd is a local, small and medium-sized (SME) energy services company (ESCO) and a sustainable energy consultant from Singapore. The company specialises in energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable design for different types of buildings and seeks to expand its services to provide integrated soluons for clients. G-Energy also provides M&E services, BIM and simula on services. Over the years, G-Energy’s consultancy teams in Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and China have contributed to the large number of Green Mark projects.

The company, has successfully grown and exported its capabili es, and has close to 400 local and interna onal Green Mark projects under its belt. The firm’s notable projects include Jewel Changi Airport and Resorts World Sentosa, in Singapore; Saigon Sports City in Vietnam; and World Trade Centre 2 and Sinarmas Land Plaza Tower 2 and 3, in Indonesia.

In 2008, the company achieved two firsts in foreign Green Mark Consultancy, in the form of G-Tower (Malaysia) and Tuan Sing (Shanghai, China). The two projects are the first-of-its-kind Green Mark projects in Malaysia and China, respec vely, which were fully handled by G-Energy Global.

Through retrofitting chilled water systems used for the cooling of premises, G-Energy has helped its clients achieve significant energy savings. Its client’s buildings’ high performance is recognised through the BCA Green Mark Awards received. Other awards include the ASEAN Energy Award and green certification awards such as LEED, Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) and Indonesia’s Greenship.

UPWARD TREND FOR HIGHER-TIER GREEN MARK AWARD RATINGS BCA presented Green Mark Awards to 395 projects this year, more than half of which achieved the higher- ered BCA Green Mark Pla num and GoldPLUS ra ngs. This uptrend has con nued over recent years and is indica ve that more building owners and developers are recognising the benefits of going green, from both environmental and economic perspec ves.

“Since Singapore’s green building journey began in 2005, more than 109 million m2 of gross floor area has been greened. The joint efforts of BCA and our industry partners, the Singapore Green Building Council, developers and building owners, have increased awareness of the environmental, social and economic benefits of green buildings. More are coming on board to invest in higher-tier certifications. With this year’s latest batch of Green Mark projects, Singapore has ‘greened’ close to 40% of the country’s gross floor area, bringing us closer to our national target of greening 80% of all buildings by 2030”, said Mr Hugh Lim, CEO, BCA.

ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING

SHINING A LIGHT

ON SWIMMING POOL DISINFECTION

by Duncan Ockendon, Interna onal Sales Manager, atg UV Technology, UK Chemical-free disinfec on can improve the water management.

It is summer all year round in Singapore, so it is not surprising that swimming is a popular leisure activity for residents and visitors alike. At the last count, there were more than 30 public swimming pools and, at least, twice that number in water parks, hotels and private homes.

But where a lot of people are bathing in the same water, there are poten al risks to health from Folliculis, Cryptosporidiosis, Legionnaires’ Disease and many other diseases caused by water-borne pathogens. So water hygiene is a high priority, and the most common approach is disinfec on by halogena on (chlorina on or bromina on).

The main source of pathogens is the bathers themselves.

Skin, mucus and faeces are the principal sources of microbiological contamina on, but bathers also contribute sweat, organic ma er and urine to the water, and these have an impact on chemical disinfec on. Pathogens introduced in this way include not only bacteria such as E Coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Brucella, but also protozoans like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. If disinfec on is inadequate, film-forming bacteria like Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can form adherent biofilms on pipework and infest ac vated carbon filters, resul ng in ongoing contamina on that is difficult to remove.

Chlorine is a very effec ve disinfectant against most bacteria, but protozoan parasites like Cryptosporidium and Giardia, common causal agents of sickness and diarrhoea, which can some mes be fatal, are notably resistant to it. They are, however, inac vated by ultraviolet (UV) radia on.

a sufficient ‘residual chlorine’ concentra on to kill bacteria. This process is called ‘breakpoint chlorina on’ and it consumes a significant amount of chlorine.

Chloramines are responsible for the chlorous smell and eye irrita on that so many bathers complain about, but have also been iden fied as a contributory cause of asthma and even of stress corrosion cracking of structural steelwork. Further, chlorine and bromine react with organic ma er to form carcinogenic tri-halo methanes. But halogen disinfectants have the overriding advantage that they provide a stable ‘residual disinfectant’ concentra on in the pool water. Although their use cannot be completely eliminated, it can be significantly reduced.

To overcome some of the problems of chlorina on, many pools around the world have adopted chemical-free UV disinfec on. The process works by exposing the water, a er filtra on, to electromagne c radia on in the UV-C range (200 nm - 280 nm wavelength). This range coincides with the absorp on spectrum of the four bases that make up the DNA molecule (around 254 nm).

Exposing micro-organisms to UV radia on acts on the DNA molecule to prevent replica on, so the organism cannot reproduce. UV disinfec on reduces the chlorine dose needed to maintain the required residual chlorine concentra on in the pool water by taking most of the microbiological loading including bacteria, viruses and protozoa.

The UV-C range also covers the bond energies in chloramines, so UV disinfec on has the added advantage of

A Cryptosporidium incident at the wet deck at Sprayground Water Park in Seneca Lake State Park, New York State, USA, in 2005, caused 33 people to be hospitalised with Cryptosporidiosis, and led to a class ac on lawsuit against New York State’s Office of Parks, Recrea on and Historic Preserva on.

New York State now requires that all ‘zero depth water features’, such as interac ve fountains, splash pads, wet decks and spray pads, are fi ed with validated mediumpressure UV disinfec on systems.

Chlorine is a strong oxidising agent which reacts with ammonia (the breakdown product of uric acid, urea, his dine and crea nine, in sweat and urine) to form monochloramine and, at higher concentra ons, dichloramine, trichloramine and eventually, nitrogen gas. These chemical reac ons have to be completed before there is 34

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

The State of New York, in the US, now requires that all ‘zero depth water features’ are fi ed with validated medium pressure UV disinfec on systems.

ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING

destroying chloramines by photolysis, helping to reduce bathers’ eye irrita on. UV also generates free hydroxyl radicals which harmlessly oxidise organic ma er to produce carbon dioxide and water. Medium-pressure lamps, which produce polychroma c radia on, are preferred to monochroma c low-pressure lamps, for this applica on, since low-pressure lamps produce only 254 nm radia on and do not, therefore, have the capability of di- and tri-chloramine destruc on.

The 3rd Edi on of the USEPA 2018 Model Aqua c Health Code states, “Secondary Disinfec on Systems shall be designed to achieve a minimum 3-log (99.9%) reduc on in the number of infec ve Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts per pass through the Secondary Disinfec on System for interac ve water play aqua c venues and a minimum 2-log (99%) reduc on per pass for all other aqua c venues”.

UV systems are designated as Secondary Disinfec on Systems, and atg UV Technology’s WF range of medium-pressure UV systems is designed specifically for the swimming pool industry and is the most compact currently available. All the models are fully third party validated, to achieve a 3-log reduc on of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in accordance with standard interna onal protocols. The WF models can be easily retrofi ed in most swimming pool plant rooms.

Another benefit of using UV technology in swimming pools is the possibility of producing crystal clear water.

This contributes to safety and maintenance, because clear water allows easier observa on of what is going on below the surface, especially if there is an emergency, like a bather in trouble or a faecal pollu on incident. It also means fresh, clean air, with chloramine concentraons well below the 0.5 mg/m3 discomfort threshold, and a significant reduc on in skin and eye irrita on. In addi on, the requirement for ‘shock dosing’, and the use of addi onal chlorine, are significantly reduced. In most cases, combined chlorine levels are reduced to as li le as 0.2 mg/l, represen ng up to 75% reduc on on convenonal chlorina on systems. By installing secondary disinfec on by UV, the use of chlorine in swimming pools can be minimised, many of the associated chemical hazards are removed, and the reduced chemical consump on has clear economic benefits.

atg UV Technology’s WF UV systems are designed specifically for the swimming pool industry and are said to be the most compact mediumpressure systems currently available.

WF UV System and control panel installed in a swimming pool plant room.

atg UV Technology atg UV Technology has over 35 years’ experience in ultraviolet (UV) disinfec on, covering industries from oil & gas to food and beverage, and pharmaceu cals. The company has exper se in the design, produc on and maintenance of UV disinfec on/treatment systems and is recognised as a market leader in the supply of highquality UV equipment and services. atg UV Technology has established a strong track record, with thousands of installa ons worldwide, a strong commitment to research & development, and an ongoing valida on programme. More informa on can be obtained from www.atguv.com UV reduces chloramines, the cause of itchy skin and eye irrita on.

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ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING

LOW COST LNG RETROFITTING CHALLENGE FOR A CAPESIZE BULK CARRIER

by Ivan Tam, Arun Dev and Chun Wee Ng, Newcastle University in Singapore; and Ivan Stoytchev and Livio Del n, Joint Branch of RINA and IMarEST (Singapore) This ar cle aims to provide a feasibility study answering the challenge in Low Cost LNG Retrofi ng (LCLR) of ships currently sailing, powered by tradi onal marine fuel oil. The mari me industry is facing increasing social and regulatory pressures to reduce pollutants, and one of the promising alterna ve solu ons is the adop on of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as the marine fuel. The project proposal has presented several revolu onary changes in design, through bold and crea ve approaches to overcoming challenges in retrofi ng a ship, economically, for LNG-fuelled engines.

One of the cri cal challenges in the retrofi ng of a ship for the adop on of LNG as the fuel is the high Capex.

This feasibility study aims to address this problem, and any retrofit work is simplified so that cost and down me will be minimised, at the same me. The new concepts may be revolu onary, yet, they are prac cal and easily implemented with the current facili es available in local produc on yards.

The second key objec ve of this study is to address the challenging opera ng environment and workforce development in the Singapore mari me industry. Currently, the marine yards are facing low produc on demand.

Hence, there is a need to encourage the local marine industry to team up with ins tu ons of higher learning (IHLs) and research ins tu ons (RIs) to challenge the conven onal designs and to think in terms of available marine products and services. This feasibility study is the

contribu on of a team which comprises both budding engineers and very senior professionals with decades of engineering, produc on and ship design experiences, in Singapore. It is believed that the proposed concepts will lead to a quantum cost reduc on in the retrofi ng of LNG-fuelled vessels. It will also lead to a new wave of demand for marine produc on facili es in Singapore.

The interest generated in the use of LNG and in the marine industry will then a ract new blood and young engineers, into the industry, as well.

A great deal of eort and delibera on was directed towards studying the op ons for fuel tank design and loca on. The opportunity for loca ng the LNG tanks in the cargo tanks, below deck, will compromise the volume of the cargo tanks. It will require expensive retrofi ng of the hull and structure, as well. The op on to retrofit the exis ng tanks will lead to expensive retrofi ng of the hull.

Figure 1: Concept arrangement of Low Cost LNG Retrofit on a capesize bulk carrier.

36

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

ENVIRONMENT & WATER ENGINEERING

Hence, there will be requirements to rearrange tanks and loading, as well as the ballas ng condi on of the ship etc.

The final chosen LNG storage tank loca on was on the open deck, as it is less complicated to install.

shipyard should make all possible a empts to standardise the tank construc on, including another ou i ng. Where possible, it would be wise to take a bulk order for retrofitng, so that the cost gets a further reduc on.

Several innova ve concepts were proposed in this feasibility study of tank design and loca on. Firstly, forty-three 40 container tanks are used as LNG storage tanks. Alterna vely, the Variant IV with four ver cal LNG tanks (375 m3 each) can be considered. All of them will be located a of the vessel, on open deck, just above the engine room area. Finally, the module concept (as shown in Figure 1) for installing of the LNG system was proposed for cost reduc on in the vessel conversion, and for reducing the down me of the ship in the shipyard.

Newcastle University in Singapore led the feasibility study and project report. The team, comprising academic staff, consul ng engineers and postgraduate students, contributed to the work. All team members are affiliated with RINA and IMarEST as corporate members and fellows.

The Newcastle University team has carried out cost esma on, using the top-down and bo om-up approaches which are presented in detail, in the report. Using the top-down approach, based on newbuilding prices, comparison with compe ng technologies and historical retrofit contract values, led to the establishment of a top limit of USD 10 million, to make the retrofit an a rac ve op on. Using the bo om-up approach, by breaking down the retrofit costs into equipment costs, yard costs and professional services, a total retrofit cost of USD 8 million was derived. It is comparable to the cost limited by a topdown approach. It is advisable to include a safety margin of about USD 1 million to act as a buffer against uncertain es and inaccuracies in cost. Then, there is a good match between the two approaches. Figure 2 shows the es mated retrofit cost. Figure 3 also shows the LCLR payback compared to other ships’ fuel op ons for a aining the IMO2020 objec ve.

The exercise that was carried out, included a feasibility study and concept design. More in-depth design analysis is to be carried out, including an exhaus ve economic analysis, based on the various configura ons of tanks and their loca ons. The study is to be based on life-cycle cost and management costs. To keep the retrofi ng cost low, the

Figure 2: Cost es ma on for the retrofit of a capesize bulk carrier.

Figure 3 shows the LCLR payback compared to other ships’ fuel op ons for a aining the IMO2020 objec ve. Image by DNV GL.

Seated, from le , Mr Chun Wee Ng and Dr Ivan C K Tam, Newcastle University in Singapore. Standing, from le , Dr Arun Dev, Newcastle University in Singapore, and Mr Ivan Stoytchev and Mr Livio Del n, Joint Branch of RINA and IMarEST (Singapore).

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37

PROJECT APPLICATION

DESIGNING A POLISHING SYSTEM TO REDUCE MERCURY GAS EMISSIONS

by Marie Telepneff, Senior Product Marke ng Manager, Bentley Systems OpenPlant improved engineering processes, saving 33% in design me.

An industry leader in chemical manufacturing, Unipar Carbocloro produces chlorine, caus c soda, and derivave compounds at its plant in Cubatao, São Paulo, Brazil.

With a processing plant covering 650,000 m2, including a private natural heritage reserve recognised by the Wildlife Center of São Paulo State Department, the company is commi ed to world-class standards not only for quality, but also for environmental protec on, safety, and security, with sustainable ini a ves da ng back to 1985.

Inevitable need for new technology Aligned with its vision to support surrounding communies and the environment, Unipar ini ated a BRL 1 million project encompassing the design of a polishing system for exhaust gas emi ed from a mercury vapour abatement tower, that would increase efficiency and reduce gas emissions to well below interna onal standards.

With ght deadlines imposed on this project, combined with growing project demands, Unipar recognised the need for improved internal engineering processes and updated technology systems to op mise produc vity.

“Evolu on of technology was not only necessary, but inevitable”, explained Carlos Rodrigues, a Project Engineer at Unipar.

Marie Telepneff

The company wanted a versa le solu on that could be implemented to meet its own specifica ons, not only for this project but also for future projects, without needing to hire third-party consultants.

OpenPlant provides a flexible solu on A Bentley so ware user for more than 22 years, Unipar wanted to keep its current data and files on the same pla orm and therefore faced the challenge of integra ng its current applica ons within a new environment. The company also needed a customisable capability that could be used intelligently for 31 exclusive piping specifica ons. The team chose OpenPlant, from Bentley Systems, and in eight months, Unipar internally developed its library of pipe specifica ons, pilo ng the so ware to design the polishing system.

Delivering the polishing system included installa on of structures to be interlinked to the mercury abatement tower pla orm; skids; hydraulic seals; as well as piping, pressure, and drainage networks. This required that the equipment be integrated into current processes.

Using OpenPlant, the team modelled the system amidst serious space and me constraints, limited engineering resources, and a lean budget. The flexibility, versa lity, and interoperability of OpenPlant enabled the team to

OpenPlant enables engineers to model plants amidst serious space and me constraints, limited engineering resources, and lean budgets.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

PROJECT APPLICATION

combine former 2D models with newly created 3D elements to produce a collabora ve virtual model for more accurate clash analysis, improving informa on mobility, and streamlining reviews for be er decision-making.

Versa lity delivers benefits OpenPlant’s flexibility and ease of use enabled Unipar to develop its own applica on to meet its unique engineering specifica ons, without external consultants, saving significant costs. Furthermore, given Unipar’s lean employee structure, the ability to administer and maintain the so ware without the need for a 100% dedicated resource was a dis nct advantage. Working in an intelligent 3D modelling environment accelerated design of the new polishing system by 33% and project deliverables were produced ahead of the required deadline. Using the so ware improved project collabora on, enhanced review cycles, automated produc on of material lists, and ensured company standards were consistently applied throughout the en re project.

The interoperability of OpenPlant facilitated the integraon of the specified pipe design with already exis ng 2D and 3D elements, op mising clash analysis for improved modelling accuracy and elimina ng errors. Having a visual, mul -faceted 3D model streamlined informa on mobility and allowed the team to realise its ul mate goal of reducing mercury gas emissions to much lower levels than mandated by interna onal standards. This will greatly improve air quality, which aligns with the company’s values of safety, security, and environmental sustainability.

Finally, the versa lity of Bentley’s so ware, from both a user and engineering process perspec ve, significantly reduced engineering costs. The so ware is easy to manage and customisa on does not require a dedicated professional. With a consolidated, standardised, and collabora ve interface, OpenPlant accommodates and integrates 2D and 3D environments, and will provide con nued benefits for future Unipar projects.

Integra ng OpenPlant drives company change Unipar con nues to use OpenPlant for reviewing documents, crea ng orders, and genera ng reports to encourage and enhance collabora on and communicate daily ac ons. Using OpenPlant for the successful deliv-

ery of the polishing system for the mercury abatement tower will drive change in the way future projects are carried out, making them much more collabora ve and interac ve. The 3D visualisa on model generated by the applica on allows for more efficient and effec ve par cipa on of client and stakeholders from the concep on phase. With a flexible, collabora ve modelling capability, Unipar expects to save me and money, while reducing work.

PROJECT DATA Organisa on Unipar Carbocloro Loca on Cubatao, São Paulo, Brazil Type of ac vity Manufacturing of chemicals Project objec ves • Op mising internal engineering processes using limited resources, to be er meet growing project demands.

• Designing a polishing system to increase efficiency and further reduce mercury gas emissions to well below current interna onal standards.

• Demonstra ng commitment to quality, environmental sustainability, safety, and security.

Product used OpenPlant Summary of achievements • The re-use of exis ng data and processes preserved Unipar’s investment in legacy systems.

• The flexibility and versa lity of OpenPlant enabled the team to customise the applica on for 31 pipe specifica ons.

• The team created 3D models to streamline the review process for improved informa on mobility.

• Using OpenPlant allowed Unipar to develop its engineering solu on internally, elimina ng the significant costs of hiring an outside consultant.

• Bentley’s flexible, interoperable so ware saved 33% in design me, enabling the team to complete the project ahead of the ght deadline.

• Using the so ware to automate the material lists, based on model specifica ons, saved me and eliminated errors from otherwise manual work.

OpenPlant’s interoperability facilitated the incorpora on of the pipe design with pre-exis ng 2D and 3D elements.

All images by Bentley Systems THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

39

ENERGY ENGINEERING

HYBRIDISATION OF AN ISLAND IN THE PHILIPPINES

by Frank Zimmermann and Suphak Dawyok, ILF Consul ng Engineers (Asia), Thailand Costs for solar photovoltaic cells and modules along with ba ery storage technologies have been largely reduced. Especially ba eries have a good impact on the cost reduc on of PV hybrid systems.

Therefore fuel-saver technologies in small grids or for island-wide usage emerge. Par cularly in the sun-belt, the applica on of photovoltaics in combina on with ba eries and a back-up conven onal power generator could save fuel for exis ng plants, open opportuni es to increase the availability of electricity and increase the benefit for the end-users largely. Nonetheless, it has been understood, that every system is unique and standardisa on is not possible due to too many technological, economical or socio-economic variants, including differences in cultures and human behaviour.

INTRODUCTION This ar cle will introduce the applica on of renewable energy sources in an island in the Philippines, by using photovoltaics (PV), inverters, Li-ion ba eries and a sophis cated combina on of diesel generators as a conven onal power source. The design and assembly of several independent technologies result in the crea on of a ‘hybrid power plant’, while the addi on of technologies to an exis ng power plant is called ‘hybridisa on’.

This ar cle provides an insight into the challenge of proper sizing of the single elements of a hybrid plant, based on detailed socio-economic data and long-term assumpons, based on the most important parameter which is grid stability, and under the pre-condi on of economic viability, of using them as ‘fuel-savers’, and extending the availability of electricity on the island.

ADVANTAGES OF HYBRIDISATION Remote grids, mini- and micro-grids running on diesel, gas, or other conven onal energy sources, or even running on power generated from waste or biomass, can be hybridised. Hybridisa on is the addi on to the exis ng system of another, renewable system including photovoltaics, ba eries, wind power or hydropower. The reasons for hybridisa on are many: • The recent decrease in the produc on cost for solar modules and ba eries has been leading to lower system investment costs (CAPEX) and therefore lower power genera on costs or Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE). This is the ini al reason that there is today a business case, although the technology has matured over a long period.

• At a country level, reduc on of fuel imports leads to more energy independence for the country.

• There is increased investment security, as there are no price fluctua ons compared to those for fossil fuels.

• Reduc on of fuel transport (volume and frequency) provides logis c advantages for very remote loca ons.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

• The reduc on in the opera ng hours of diesel generators leads to higher life expectancy and less chances of failure.

• Lower maintenance of the diesel generators results in lower costs.

• Properly sized mini-grids tend to be more stable, resulting in higher acceptance.

• The reduc on in CO2 emissions makes hybridisa on an environment-friendly, green op on.

• Absence of subsidies for fuel reduces the expenses for the government.

• No subsidies for solar genera on builds up a ‘natural market’ for photovoltaics.

HYBRIDISATION AND ITS MARKET POTENTIAL Hybridisa on, in general, is the combina on of a minimum of two independent systems. Preferably, diesel systems, gas, coal or heavy fuel oil power plants may be hybridised. But also, an addi onal renewable energy system may be added to new and green energy systems like waste-to-energy or biomass-to-energy systems. Typical sizes range from 50 kW to 50 MW. Loca ons are typically in remote areas, such as islands, remote communi es/ci es and mines.

Hybridisa on may be done by adding a photovoltaic system, wind turbines, biomass plant or hydro-power plant. Ba eries with various technologies may buffer the energy from the renewable energy source. For large systems, even pumped storage plants may be considered as short-term storage.

The poten al in the sun-belt of the world is enormous.

According to the Rainer Lemoine Ins tute, most applica ons of diesel generators lie in the sun-belt. While 30 GW to 35 GW of new diesel generators are sold annually, half of them are used in con nuous on-grid or off-grid applica ons.

ENERGY ENGINEERING

Figure 1: Every year, 30 GW to 35 GW of new, large-scale diesel generators (>0.5 MW) are sold in the world.

The most a rac ve applica on is in the diesel generator market, where approximately 35 GW of new large-scale diesel generators, with sizes that are more than 0.5 MW nominal power, are sold worldwide, every year. Approximately half of them are used for stand-by, back-up or peaking applica ons, and may be used only a few hours per year, ie during outages, as a back-up to the main grid, in hospitals, server centres etc, or for peaking in grid-connected power plants, for a few hundred highload hours per year or less. The other approximately 50% of the generators contribute to the business case for hybridisa on with photovoltaics, where diesel generators are used for con nuous power supply, in off-grid, minigrid or for small-grid applica ons.

• Load Inrush current drawn by a pump or a large-scale motor, when first turned on, may require up to three mes the nominal power of the motor.

• Diesel generator The failure of the largest generator shall be also taken into account.

The proper sizing of the renewable energy power plant allows the a ainment of the economic op mum of the hybrid system.

These generators are mostly located in remote and less developed areas, with poor infrastructure. Most of them are deployed in less industrialised countries [1], or in offgrid mines in large countries like Australia or South Africa.

Interes ngly, these countries are mostly located in the sun-belt of the world, which makes it a perfect case for photovoltaic applica on.

CHALLENGES FOR HYBRIDISATION A key success factor for the acceptance of hybrid systems is a reliable energy management system to ensure grid stability. To prevent any incidents, all ancillary services have to be provided by the hybrid system. For PV/diesel systems, sufficient primary or spinning reserve from the conven onal energy sources have to be provided, at any me. As illustrated in Figure 2, there are mainly three variability constraints to be taken into account in the sizing and simula on of a hybrid system.

• Photovoltaics A sudden reduc on of the solar power output (due to a cloud event, a sand storm etc) can reach, in the worst case, up to 70% in less than 10 seconds.

Figure 2: Variability constraints in hybridisa on with photovoltaics.

Figure 3: Constraints in hybridisa on with photovoltaics.

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ENERGY ENGINEERING

So ware from ILF Consul ng Engineers enables the defining of how much renewable energy can be injected into the grid, without causing risks of grid instability; determining if oversizing can provide an economical advantage; and finally determining the technical-financial op mum providing the lowest Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the hybrid system. It should be noted that every project is unique and that the op mum is very dependent on the specific local condi ons (load profile, irradia on etc).

METHODOLOGY FOR HYBRIDISATION OF THE ISLAND ILF conducted a feasibility study for a hybrid system on an island in the Philippines. Currently, the power genera on system at the project site relies completely on conven onal power plants, ie diesel generators, and power is available only for approximately 16 hours per day. The purpose of the study is to develop a conven onal system such that it has a 24-hour electricity supply capability, by implemen ng a hybrid system using photovoltaics (PV), diesel generators and ba eries. The study can be demonstrated in the following four subchapters: • Current power situa on and socio-economic review As men oned, the electricity genera on system fully depends on diesel generators. The island is 100% electrified. This means that each household has access to the local grid. Most of the electrical consump on is by residen al, commercial and other sectors such as public buildings and streetlights. The registered number of consumers is recorded by the electricity distributor and will be summarised in the next sec on. A standard household is equipped with light bulbs, fans and TV. Nevertheless, no air-condi oning and other high-load appliances have been recorded.

• Energy demand analysis To op mally design and model a hybrid system, the current and future energy demand needs to be determined. Together with the results from the socio-economic evalua on, the exis ng load profile from the historical power output record of the diesel generators, as shown in Figure 4, was analysed and projected in a first step, from an 8-hour and 16-hour to a 24-hour load profile. It should be noted that, before July 2016, the diesel power plant operated 8 hours per day. In July 2016, the power plant was extended and the opera ng hours have been increased to 16 hours per day. The recorded data was available un l August 2016 at that me.

Figure 5 shows the monthly gross energy genera on of the diesel power plant based on the recorded data. The highest energy demand usually occurs during summer, which is from March to May resul ng from the high consump on of cooling devices and fans. Furthermore, especially in April and May, a significant peak demand could be observed every year around the Easter holidays.

The lowest energy demand is mostly during the cool season from December to January. It has to be noted, that an increase in demand, of up to 80% in August 2016, was considered as a one- me effect, due to increasing the availability of electricity, from 8 hours to 16 hours.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

Figure 4. Load profile of an exis ng diesel power plant in 2015 and 2016 (January - August).

Figure 5: Monthly gross genera on of the diesel power plant.

There are three different kinds of registered electricity consumer groups on the island - residen al, commercial and others (public buildings and streetlights). According to the documented data, the number of residen al customers has steadily increased in the period between 2010 and 2014, by 2.76%, on average. With regard to the total energy consump on in 2015, residen al customers consumed the most energy (79.32%), followed by commercial customers (13.80%) and other customers (6.88%). These values form the basis for es ma ng the future number of customers and the energy consump on.

Further to that, the data and experience from other islands, a er providing 24-hour electricity, were taken into account. A price-cut of not more than 15% on the island was assumed, arriving at a similar consumer price level as on the other islands. Based thereof, the increase in

ENERGY ENGINEERING

demand from socio-economic percep ons was analysed as follows:

sure suďŹƒcient reserves and sizing of the hybrid system.

This load profile, based on the assump ons, as defined above, shall serve as the main input, to design the hybrid power plant.

- The social class of top-earners on the island, who may use their appliances such as TV, fan, radio, computer, video player for an extended dura on. Moreover, this group will purchase more electrical devices for the household, resul ng in a larger propor on of energy consump on.

-The middle-class, in terms of income, is assumed to use the appliances for an extended period. A small increase in purchased equipment is also es mated.

-For the lower income class, it may be perceived that the consump on will remain the same.

As a result, an overall 60% increase in energy consumpon was considered to extrapolate the load profile from 8 hours to 24 hours for Year 2017 a er the hybridisa on, based on Year 2015.

Figure 6: Peak power genera on of the diesel power plant.

Table 1 shows the assump ons to es mate the future energy demand and to develop the corresponding load profiles. The results are summarised in Table 2.

To ensure that the system is designed and op mised to provide coverage and suďŹƒcient capacity, the data on daily peak powers is analysed. The specific P90 power that covers 90% of the total amount of annual measured peaks is applied. Figure 6 shows the distribu on of the daily peak power, which has a P90 of 159 kW, 166 kW and 191 kW, in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respec vely. The future peak power is forecast as a fixed annual increase of 5%.

A load profile forecast is typically developed to cover a period of at least 10 years, as shown in Figure 7, to en-

Figure 7: Developed load profile for Year 2026.

Data

Unit

Annual increase in % for Year 2017 to Year 2026

Residen al

No.

3.0%

MWh

3.0%

No.

3.0%

MWh

2.5%

No.

0.5%

MWh

1.5%

Commercial Others (Public buildings and streetlights) Table 1: Assump ons for energy demand forecas ng.

Data

Unit

2015 (Base)

2017

2021

2026

Residen al

No.

1,380

1,464

1,648

1,910

MWh

172.54

325.13

411.86

553.51

No.

44

46

50

55

MWh

30.02

54.67

67.92

89.09

No.

49

49

50

52

MWh

14.96

25.78

27.92

30.83

No.

1,473

1,559

1,748

2,017

MWh

260.69

466.19

583.57

774.06

Commercial Others (Public buildings and streetlights) Total number of customer connec ons Gross genera on hybrid power plant (including distribu on loss)

Table 2: Future es ma on of the number of customer connec ons and energy demand.

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• Hybrid system design and energy simula on To size and simulate the hybrid system in the project, HOMER Pro and ILF’s so ware were used in parallel. The hybrid system includes photovoltaics, diesel generators and ba ery, as illustrated in Figure 8.

Figure 9 shows the principle of opera on of the designed hybrid system. During the day, the output power of the PV power plant shall cover the en re load and create a sufficient surplus to fully recharge the ba ery (SOCmax of 100%). During the peak evening hours (approximately 1700 to 2200 hours), the diesel generators are scheduled to run and generate the required energy to cover the whole load. It has to be noted, that whenever the energy coming from the PV power plant or the ba ery is not sufficient to serve the load, the diesel generators will be used as a backup to provide full load. This methodology is called ‘Load Following (LF)’.

The core of the hybrid system is the ba ery inverter together with the hybrid system controller. The ba ery inverter is the grid forming unit, providing frequency (P(f)) and voltage (Q(U)). The hybrid system controller is generally responsible for the balance between the load and the hybrid system components ensuring grid stability even during cri cal situa ons. The cri cal situa on could be, for instance, when the PV and ba ery outputs are no longer sufficient to supply the current energy demand.

To ensure grid stability, the controller needs to switch on the diesel generators to provide the required load. Furthermore, in the event that the PV power is higher than the required load and the ba ery has already reached its SOCmax, the controller shall communicate to the PV inverters to reduce the output power.

For the calcula on of the expected annual PV producon, the meteorological data set of Meteonorm 7 was applied, as illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 8: Schema c diagram of a hybrid system.

Figure 9: Opera ng methodology of the hybrid system.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

Figure 10. Meteorological data for the project site.

ENERGY ENGINEERING

Hybrid system

Unit

2017

2021

2026

System parameters Capacity diesel generators

kW

3Ă—150 kW

Total PV capacity

kWp

300

Total PV inverter capacity

kW

300

-

Lithium Ion

Total ba ery capacity

kWh

700

Ba ery inverter capacity

kW

350

Ba ery storage technology

Energe c simula on outputs Total energy produc on/demand

kWh/a

457,097

572,186

758,964

Total diesel consump on

l/a

49,322

72,845

117,641

Reduc on diesel consump on (compared to 100% diesel scenario)

l/a

109,422

110,297

109,930

Renewable frac on (PV and ba ery)

%

62

56

46

Excess PV energy

%

32

23

15

Diesel opera ng hours

h/a

1,890

2,839

4,529

Diesel opera ng hours below 40%

%/a

12.3

9.5

6.3

CO2 emission

t/a

130

192

311

Reduc on of CO2 emission

t/a

289

291

290

Table 3: Summary of simula on results.

The op mised hybrid system was simulated by the aforemen oned tools. The main system parameters and energy simula on results of the hybrid system including PV, diesel generator and ba ery are summarised in Table 3.

In the first year of opera on (2017), a renewable frac on of 62% could be achieved. Due to the increasing load over several years, this value will be reduced to approximately 46% in Year 2026. Compared to the 100% diesel scenario, the diesel consump on as well as the diesel opera ng hours can be significantly reduced. Moreover, harmful annual CO2 emissions can also be considerably reduced.

Figure 11 shows the energy genera on distribu on with the renewable frac on, over the project life me. Due to the increasing energy demand, from 2017 to 2026, and considering an annual PV degrada on of 0.4%, the renewable share is decreasing, compared to the total energy produc on. A er 2026, the annual energy demand is es mated to be constant and the renewable share is reduced annually by 0.4%.

Furthermore, to op mise the size of the diesel generators and to reduce the opera ng hours below 40%, the load factor curves for each simulated year was analysed.

Figure 11: Energy genera on distribu on over the project life me.

The curves are shown in Figure 12. Only 12.3%, 9.5% and 6.3% of the total number of opera ng hours are below 40% in 2017, 2021 and 2026, respec vely. Apart from a few opera ng hours below 40%, the diesel generators are opera ng most of the me in an acceptable range, between 50% and 90%. The low load hours below 40% are unavoidable due to the cloudy and rainy days, ie there is less solar radia on.

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ENERGY ENGINEERING

• Financial analysis Levelizedst of Electricity (LCOE) is defined as the total costs to build and operate the system over its total lifeme of 30 years. The total costs include CAPEX, OPEX, replacement costs, fuel costs and financing costs. Based on the energy simula on results, the financial assump ons and es mated CAPEX as well as OPEX costs, the calculated LCOE of the PV/Diesel/Ba ery hybrid system is 0.576 USD/kWh. In comparison with the 100% diesel scenario, the LCOE of the hybrid system is 18.35% lower.

SUMMARY Proper engineering of hybrids or the hybridisa on of conven onal power plants is essen al. A lack of knowledge of the economics of too small or too large systems may discourage the further spread of a very interes ng technology - especially in light of lower conven onal fuel oil prices.

In case the hybridisa on leads to brown-outs or otherwise endangers grid-stability, the acceptance by the popula on of hybrid power plants drops, and leads to overall rejec on of the technology.

Mini-grids are different in terms of loca on, consumer habits of different people, various electrical loads etc.

Consequently, every system is unique and sould be individually designed.

REFERENCES [1] P Blechinger: ‘Hybrid Mini Grids’, GIZ Mini-Grid Workshop, 26 February 2013, Berlin, Germany [2] F Zimmermann, D Puigserver: ‘Op mized Hybridiza on and Storage in Mini Grids using Renewable Energy Sources from Photovoltaics and Wind’, SETA 2016, Bangkok, Thailand.

(This ar cle is based on a paper authored by Frank Zimmermann and Suphak Dawyok, ILF Consul ng Engineers (Asia), Thailand, and presented at POWERGEN Asia 2018. The paper won a Best Paper Award, under the Distributed Energy Resources track. Held from 18 to 20 September 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia, POWERGEN Asia 2018 was organised by Clarion Energy).

Figure 12: Load factor curve for the diesel generators for Year 2017, Year 2021 and Year 2026.

IEA Technology Collabora on Programme holds its third universal mee ng Leading energy experts from the public and private sector gathered in Paris on 18 and 19 June 2019 for the third universal mee ng under the Interna onal Energy Agency’s (IEA) Technology Collabora on Programme (TCP).

The first day of the event was jointly hosted by the IEA Commi ee on Energy Research and Technology and the IEA Standing Group on Long-Term Co-opera on. It brought together policy- and decision-makers to share experiences on disrup ve innova on, technology trends, and partnerships between governments, the private sector and other energy stakeholders.

The mee ng provided an opportunity for innovators and strategic thinkers to discuss key trends, which will help to provide informa on on future IEA ac vi es related to energy technology, research and innova on. That includes the prepara ons for the 2019 IEA Ministerial and the 2020 edi on of Energy Technology Perspec ves, one of IEA’s major publica ons.

At the meeting, IEA unveiled new tools and online resources available under its energy innovation web portal, including a study mapping international partnerships relevant to energy technology innovation in order to identify synergies and foster strategic engagement across initiatives. The IEA Secretariat also outlined plans for a major effort to modernise the TCP legal mechanism, further explore how IEA can make better use of TCP and improve communication across the TCP network.

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THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

IES UPDATE

ENGINEERING MEETS CREATIVITY AT IES NUS STUDENT CHAPTER CAREER FAIR In collabora on with the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates, Engin Club, the School of Compu ng, and graduate careers publisher GTI Media, the IES-NUS Student Chapter organised a career fair called Enginuity 2019.

Targeted at NUS engineering and compu ng students, the event took place at the NUS Engineering Auditorium foyer on 21 March 2019.

Various companies and agencies, such as Samsung, nuTonomy, DSO Na onal Laboratories, and the Cyber Security Agency, were invited to showcase their job openings at the fair, which was open to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

One of the highlights of the event was a ‘Human Library’, where industry professionals engaged in talks with a small

Mr Alvin Zhang (second from le ), who works at SMRT, was amongst the speakers who sat down with various groups of students to talk about his experiences at the Human Library.

groups of students to share their experiences.

At the IES-NUS Student Chapter booth, students were given more informa on about IES and its student chapters.

New signups for were presented with a welcome gi consis ng of a custom-made IES-NUS drawstring bag containing gi vouchers from event sponsors.

To spice things up a bit, an IES-NUS student chapter representa ve dressed as a monkey-headed mascot, which a racted the a en on of many students.

Through this event, the student chapter managed to recruit some 200 new student members. The career fair organising commi ee would like to show its apprecia on to all sponsors, as well as the Human Library speakers, for contribu ng to the success of this event.

Representa ves from IES and the student chapter were on hand to reach out to both students and par cipa ng exhibitors.

IES ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2019 The 53rd IES Annual General Mee ng (AGM) took place on 25 May 2018 at Raffles Town Club, a ended by about 120 members.

Prof Yeoh Lean Weng, the 27th IES President, kicked off the mee ng with the President’s Report for Council Session 2018/2019, upda ng members on the progress made under the three priority areas of Engineering Excellence, Embracing Inclusiveness and Rebranding IES, which he laid down last year.

IES Council Members for Session 2019/2020. Front row (L to R): Er. Tan Seng Chuan, Er. Chong Kee Sen, Mr Dalson Chung, Er. Ong Ser Huan, Er. Dr Lee Bee Wah, Prof Yeoh Lean Weng, Dr Richard Kwok, Er. Chan Ewe Jin, Er. Ong See Ho, Er. Edwin Khew. Middle row: Ms Jasmine Foo, Mr Norman Lee, Dr Victor Sim, Mr Mervyn Sirisena, Mr Ong Eng Teck, Er. Ricky Chan, Mr Lew Yii Der, Er. Teo Tiong Yong, Ms Wan Siew Ping. Back row: Mr Chong Wah Heng, A/Prof Lim Kok Hwa, Mr Danny Lee, Mr Dennis Tan, Mr Vincent Ng, Er. Dr Ho Kwong Meng.

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IES UPDATE

For Engineering Excellence, he touched on the growth of the Chartered Engineer Programme and spoke about the contribu ons of the Technical Commi ees to na onal needs such as building façade inspec on and the Bus Technician Cer fica on Programme.

The Treasurer’s Report and Statement of Accounts for FY 2018 were presented next by Honorary Treasurer Kang Choon Seng. Following this, Honorary Secretary Er. Joseph Goh presented the elec on results for Deputy President, the Vice Presidents, and vacancies in the Council.

The Global Engineers Leadership Programme, which completes the progression pathway for nurturing nextgenera on engineering leaders, was also launched last year during CAFEO 36.

Plaques of apprecia on were then presented by Prof Yeoh to re ring council members – Er. Joseph Goh, Mr Kang Choon Seng, A/Prof Lee Poh Seng, Prof Lee Pooi See, Er. Lim Beng Kwee and Er. Alfred Wong – concluding the AGM.

Furthermore, the IES Incubator and Accelerator Programme (IES-INCA), championed by the Technopreneurship Development Commi ee, began working with its first incubatee – PHAOS Technology Pte Ltd, an advanced op cs technology startup. Prof Yeoh encouraged members to contribute their ideas and experience to this programme.

On embracing inclusiveness, he noted that the Cons tu on Review, which aims to broaden the community to include technicians and master cra smen, is slated for comple on by next year’s AGM. He also reported that a pro-tem commi ee had been formed to examine implementa on of a na onal engineering career progression pathway for technicians and technologists, which would provide professional recogni on based on experience and skill-based training.

Lastly, he men oned that branding consultants had been shortlisted for the rebranding exercise, with the Secretariat having reached out to Enterprise Singapore regarding funding possibili es.

In order to enhance the profile of engineering, the idea of a na onal-level council to coordinate efforts on promo ng and advancing the field was mooted during this year’s Away Day. The possibility of aligning Na onal Engineers Day with the newly-designated World Engineers Day on 4 March is also being explored.

Prof Yeoh then summarised the major event highlights of the year – Na onal Engineers Day 2018 and CAFEO 36, which was hosted by IES at Resorts World Sentosa in November last year, and thanked all members who par cipated in and supported the events.

He ended his report by exhor ng all present to work together in realisa on of the Ins tu on’s aims.

“A be er tomorrow is possible if we act to make changes today. I call for your support to work with us to realise this exci ng future,” he said.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX ATG UV Technology ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 33 Building and Construc on Authority ––––––––––– Page 25 Cementaid (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd –––––––––––––––––––– Page 05 Delta Energy Systems (Singapore) Pte Ltd –––– Page 10 & 11 IES Membership ––––––––––––––––––– Inside Back Cover 48

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER June 2019

IES Council Members 2019/2020 President Deputy President Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President Vice President Immediate Past President Assistant Honorary Secretary Assistant Honorary Treasurer Past President Past President Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Honorary Council Member Honorary Council Member Honorary Council Member Honorary Council Member

Prof Yeoh Lean Weng Dr Richard Kwok Mr Ong Eng Teck Mr Danny Lee Mr Dalson Chung Prof Hong Minghui Er. Ong See Ho Mr Mervyn Sirisena Er. Seow Kang Seng Er. Edwin Khew A/Prof Lim Kok Hwa Mr Chong Wah Heng Er. Chong Kee Sen Prof Chou Siaw Kiang Er. Dr Ang Choon Keat Er. Ricky Chan Er. Chan Ewe Jin Prof Er Meng Joo Ms Jasmine Foo Er. Dr Ho Kwong Meng Mr Norman Lee Mr Lee Kwok Weng Mr Lew Yii Der Mr Vincent Ng Dr Victor Sim Mr Dennis Tan Dr Teo Tee Hui Er. Teo Tiong Yong Ms Wan Siew Ping Er. Wong Swee Khian Prof Simon Yu Dr Zhou Yi Er. Ho Siong Hin Er. Dr Lee Bee Wah Er. Tan Seng Chuan Er. Ong Ser Huan

Igus Singapore Pte Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––– Page 01 Mul Nine Corpora on Pte Ltd –––––– Outside Back Cover Na onal Engineers Day 2019 –––––––––––––––– Page 21 Singapore Ins tute of Technology ––––––– Page 08 & 09 Singapore University of –––––––––––– Inside Front Cover Social Sciences World Engineers Summit 2019 –––––––––––––– Page 19