In the article “How can Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition be sped up?”, Ha (2019) wrote on experts who addressed how Southeast Asia (SEA) should implement various methods to beget green energy production. According to Ha, Moniz, who is the Chief Executive of the Energy Futures and Nuclear Threat Initiative, stated that deploying an array of "low-carbon technologies and solutions" in SEA is vital to reducing emissions. Moniz also mentioned that Singapore is inapt for the usage of solar and wind power due to having limited natural resources and space and may reap more from nuclear fusion or hydrogen power. Ha also says that implementing such methods is not cost efficient to meet the objective of the Paris Agreement. Ha also mentioned that Wong, the Group Chief Executive of utilities company Singapore Power, believes that balancing energy consumption rates are more critical than creating a new energy source to suit our current lifestyle. Instead, Ha mentions the Ecosperity report, in which it would be more beneficial for SEA if energy conservation methods were emphasised more while accommodating growing economic needs. Ha further mentions the report stating that energy demand in SEA is set to increase by nearly two-thirds until 2040. I believe with this significant increase in energy consumption, and the risk of climate change, Singapore is in urgent need of additional sustainable and renewable energy sources, primarily solar energy.
Singapore is a small and resource constrained country. Therefore, Singapore imports almost all its energy needs and has limited renewable and sustainable energy options. According to the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA), in the first-half of 2021, Singapore produced 95% of its energy through the use of imported natural gas. (Energy Market Authority, 2022). With land scarcity and lack of natural resources, Singapore faces additional difficulty as not all renewable energy sources are viable. For instance, wind turbines operate at roughly 4.5 m/s whereas the average wind speed in Singapore is 2 m/s. (Singapore Climate Change Secretariat, 2022) Singapore does not have a fast flowing river or strong tidal and wave power to produce hydroelectric power. On the other hand, harnessing solar energy is operationally and financially feasible in Singapore. It has already been implemented but inadequately, as only 2.8% of the country's energy comes from solar photovoltaic systems (PV) (Energy Market Authority, 2022).
Singapore had faced several issues with importation of much-needed resources in the past (Suling, L., 2021). Achieving self-sustainability has always been vital to Singapore. The Singapore Green Plan 2030 was implemented to set out targets to achieve this goal. One of the country's goal is to increase solar energy deployment by five-fold by 2030. This will generate enough energy to power roughly 350 thousand households (Singapore Green Plan, 2022). Solar energy requires no import of fuels, which strengthens Singapore's energy security. Furthermore, the deployment of this renewable energy will be very efficient as the technology has already been used and tested in the nation, unlike other forms of renewable energy sources such as nuclear power.
Singapore consumes most of its energy during the day. Using solar PV can help to reduce peak demand as this occurs where there is the most output of solar energy (Energy Market Authority, 2020). This significantly supports in lowering the use of fossil fuels, which is detrimental to the environment, during the time when these fuels are used the most. Solar PVs produces zero-emissions when operating and is clearly an effective method to reducing carbon emissions and ensuring sustainability.
Whilst solar energy is a practical approach in providing sustainable and renewable energy, there are some drawbacks that impact its feasibility. The most apparent issue of deploying this method in Singapore would be that there are space limitations. Singapore, as mentioned, has limited amount of land. Configurations have to be done in certain arrays in order for it to function, causing extra costs and delays in installation (Lai, 2021). This adds to the other drawback of solar PVs high installation costs and long payback period which begs the question if it's worth the long-term investment for the country.
In conclusion, renewable and sustainable energy sources are imperative to Singapore's security and impact on climate change. Although the country faces constraints that greatly impact the solution to this problem, it is necessary that Singapore reduces its use and reliance on burning fossil fuels for energy. And the most efficient method is through the use of solar PV systems.
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Read: Yumeme, Justin, Thomas
References
Letcher, T. M. (2018). Why Solar Energy?. In A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy
Systems (pp. 3-16). Academic Press.
Lai, L. (2021, May 5). Solar Energy Pros & Cons: What You Need To Know.
Lin, Suling. (2021, January 8). Commentary: Beyond scarcity and security, does
Singapore need a new water narrative? CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/singapore-water-security-malaysia-conservation-new-narrative-896776
Singapore Green Plan. (2022). Singapore Green Plan 2030 Key Targets. SG Green
Energy Market Authority. (2020). Solar Photovoltaic Systems. EMA.
Energy Market Authority. (2022). Singapore Energy Statistics | Energy Transformation
Singapore Climate Change Secretariat. (2022). Singapore’s Approach To Alternative
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