Speech by SMS Koh Poh Koon at the Asia Clean Energy Summit

Edwin Khew, Chairman, SEAS,
Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1. Good morning.  It is a pleasure to be here at the 6th edition of the Asia Clean Energy Summit. I am pleased to see so many thought leaders from the clean energy space gathered here today, and I thank the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) for making this possible. 

Singapore is committed to meeting our climate change goals

2. Singapore is a small, low-lying and highly urbanised city-state, with limited land and no natural resources. This limits our access to alternative clean energy options. It also makes us particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 

3. Singapore is committed to meeting our climate change goals.  We have pledged to reduce our emissions intensity in 2030 by 36 per cent from 2005 levels, and to stabilise our emissions with the aim of peaking around 2030. Our Energy Story shared by Minister Chan yesterday outlines key efforts that Singapore will undertake in support of our climate change goals. 

4. In particular, given our space constraints, we have seized this opportunity to develop innovative solutions to ramp up sustainable energy production. 

5. For example, Singapore is an early mover into floating solar, which enables us to make use of our reservoir surfaces to generate renewable energy. 

a. PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, has been actively working on increasing the adoption of floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on our reservoirs. I am glad to share that PUB had recently selected BBR Greentech, a local company, to develop such systems on Lower Seletar reservoir and Bedok reservoir, respectively. The two solar PV systems can reduce our carbon emissions by about 1.5 kilotonnes per year, which is equivalent to the emissions produced by the annual electricity consumption of more than 800 four-room HDB flats. 

Industry as a key partner in Singapore’s Energy Story

6. This is one of the many examples of how the private sector is actively engaged in supporting Singapore’s energy transition. Our Energy Story is a whole-of-nation effort and it requires industries, individuals and the Government to work in partnership to promote energy efficiency and sustainable business practices. 

7. Recently, SEAS aggregated suggestions from industry to develop a white paper on carbon mitigation. I am glad to share that SEAS will be making this white paper public, to provide suggestions for public-private partnerships to advance sustainability.

Opportunities for green growth in Singapore

8. Such public-private partnerships not only provide platforms to create solutions together, but also enables the industry to develop new capabilities. I am glad to share on 2 recent company investments that exemplify the green growth opportunities that have developed: 

a. TES, the largest e-waste recycler in Singapore, will be opening two new battery recycling facilities – one of which will be set up in Singapore, known as TES B.  This is an exciting development as the use of batteries for grid-related energy storage is projected to grow globally, to manage the increasing adoption of intermittent renewable energy such as solar. These recycling facilities will enable a complete closed-loop cycle for lithium-ion batteries, allowing precious metals to be used again in the manufacture of new batteries for products such as mobile phones and electric vehicles.

b. REC Group, has invested approximately 200 million SGD in its integrated solar manufacturing plant in Singapore to develop a new cell fabrication facility for its latest high efficiency heterojunction (HJT) cells and modules. This amounts to an additional 600 MW of heterojunction (HJT) cell and module capacity, bringing REC Group’s total module capacity in Singapore to 1.8 GW annually. These modules will generate 20% more electricity than conventional modules, and are suited for deployment in land-scarce urban cities like Singapore.

Conclusion

9. Let me conclude by saying that the Asia Clean Energy Summit is an important platform for companies and policymakers to discuss critical issues and opportunities in harnessing clean energy for the future. 

10. I would like to encourage all of you to continue this effort and co-create innovative clean energy solutions, so that together, we can realise our Energy Story for Singapore and our vision to be a clean energy hub for Asia. On this note, I wish everyone a fruitful and productive conference. Thank you.