Residents and businesses at Pulau Ubin can now enjoy cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity supply from a micro-grid incorporating biodiesel and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. This is part of an EMA test-bed to assess the impact of intermittent energy sources like solar on grid operations.

Unlike conventional power generators which can provide a steady supply of electricity, solar is intermittent in nature as the amount of energy produced is dependent on weather conditions. In other countries, the increasing use of intermittent energy sources like solar and wind has resulted in power disruptions. This challenge needs to be carefully managed to ensure reliability of supply to consumers, especially when solar forms an increasing part of Singapore’s overall energy mix in future. 

Witnessing the launch of the micro-grid on Pulau Ubin, Mr S Iswaran (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry) said, “The learning points from the test-bed will help to enhance our ability to manage intermittent energy sources. It will enable Singapore to maximize the amount of solar and other forms of renewable energy we can deploy when those technologies become commercially viable. This in turn will contribute to our long term goal of diversifying our energy mix and moving towards a sustainable energy future for Singapore.”

About 30 residents and businesses have signed up for electricity from the micro-grid, built by a local consortium comprising Daily Life Renewable Energy Pte Ltd (DLRE) and OKH Holdings Pte Ltd (OKH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX mainboard-listed OKH Global Ltd. An illustration of the Pulau Ubin micro-grid Test-bed is in Annex 1.

“Many Ubin residents and businesses I spoke to shared with me that they have been looking forward to this day. Instead of diesel generators, the island’s residents and businesses can now enjoy access to cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity supply,” said Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Minister of State for National Development and Defence, Mayor for South East District and Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC.

The test-bed also demonstrates emerging opportunities in the energy sector for Singapore companies. Mr Thomas Bon, Managing Director of OKH, added, “Both OKH and DLRE have worked closely together with government agencies, community leaders as well as the residents and businesses on Pulau Ubin, on all stages of this project. This micro-grid is a demonstration of our Singapore-based companies’ capabilities in smart grid Engineering-Procurement-Construction and will support our regionalisation plans to develop and promote Remote Area Power Utility Services as a sustainable business model.”

With the completion of the micro-grid, EMA is now exploring how other companies and research organisations could use it as a platform to develop and pilot energy-related technologies and solutions.