Data centres, EVs and renewables spur Singapore to ‘future-proof’ its grid: Tan See Leng

[SINGAPORE] Keeping Singapore’s lights on is set to get more complex – with the Republic’s plans to import renewable energy, as well as the higher electricity demand from data centres and electric vehicles (EVs).

Singapore is thus taking measures to “future-proof” its power grid, said Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng, on Wednesday (Oct 29).

He was speaking at the Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre as part of the Singapore International Energy Week.

Singapore plans to import 6 gigawatts (GW) of clean power by 2035. This creates the need for long, cross-border power transmission cables, Dr Tan noted.

The country will also have to manage the intermittency of imported solar and wind power, as power output may vary according to weather conditions. This introduces new operational challenges to the grid, said Dr Tan, who is also minister for manpower.

“In addition, Singapore’s electricity demand is expected to increase significantly with the growth of electricity-intensive loads, such as data centres and electric vehicles. Grid management will become more complex with these new load profiles,” he said.

New road map

To boost grid resilience, Singapore’s energy regulator on Wednesday launched a road map that taps demand-side resources to stabilise the power grid amid fluctuations.

Under the road map, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) will put out a request for information to explore the feasibility and design of a programme that can incentivise distributed energy resources – such as rooftop solar panels and EV chargers – to support system reliability.

EMA will also consider shorter activation periods for its Interruptible Load programme – under which the regulator can call on business consumers to adjust their electricity demand in times of supply-demand imbalances.

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In addition, the regulator is working with transport player ComfortDelGro on a 13-month sandbox to include EV charging stations in an existing initiative known as the “demand response programme”.

Under the programme, business consumers are incentivised to voluntarily reduce their electricity usage when wholesale electricity prices are high. This is because they receive a share of the savings from the reduction in wholesale electricity prices.

As part of the trial, ComfortDelGro will tap its EV aggregation platform and intelligent sensing system to automatically adjust energy consumption in response to power system needs. The environmental control systems of the SBS Transit Rail network will also be involved in the sandbox.

“This initiative demonstrates a collaborative effort to test innovative solutions that enhance the resilience of Singapore’s power system,” EMA said in a press statement.

Subsea cables and energy storage

Dr Tan spelt out two other ways in which Singapore plans to future-proof its grid.

First, the country is focused on boosting interconnectivity through the Asean Power Grid – a regionwide effort to lay cross-border power cables and trade clean power.

Asean leaders made progress towards the establishment of a subsea power cable framework at the recent meeting of energy ministers, Dr Tan highlighted.

“This is a very significant milestone. When realised, the framework will facilitate Asean member states in carrying out marine surveys, as well as the laying, maintenance and protection of subsea power cables in the region,” he said.

Secondly, Singapore is investing in assets such as energy storage systems (ESS), which can instantly respond to demand and supply fluctuations from intermittent renewable energy sources.

The government is working with renewables player Sembcorp Industries on this. The company recently expanded its ESS system on Jurong Island from 285 megawatt-hour (MWh) to 326 MWh, thanks to batteries that store twice as much energy.

“We will work with Sembcorp to study the potential of the new system to respond to frequency changes and stabilise the grid during contingency events,” said Dr Tan.

He called on the conference attendees to ensure that the region’s grids remain stable, reliable and ready to support “this march forward into a great and sustainable energy transition”.