Alternative Energy Sources In Singapore (Evangel Teo)

Alternative energy refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels. In Singapore, there are a few types of alternative energy.

Solar Energy

Solar panels have been installed in Changi Airport, Sembawang Shopping Centre and Marina Barrage. The solar panel modules at Changi Airport cover a rooftop area of about 2,500m² and are expected to generate over 280,000kWh/year. The electricity is used for lighting in the buildings and outdoor areas, as well as for cooling and ventilation of internal spaces.  At Sembawang Shopping Centre, there are 51 pieces of solar panels installed on the rooftop of the carpark.  The solar panels are able to generate 34.52kWh per day and the average daily electricity generated is able to power a 32W fluorescent light for approximately 1.078 hours or 45 days. However, buying and installing the solar panels cost a large amount of money and the payback period (length of time required to recover the cost of an investment) is around 20 years.

Even though the cost of buying and installing is high and the payback period is a rather long time, I think they are effective in Singapore because of the tropical climate and there is sunlight throughout the year.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from the combination of an alcohol with natural fats. Most of the current Biodiesel producers use refined, edible vegetable oils. It can be used pure or blended with diesel. It is compatible with all diesel engines, produces less black smoke, has less carcinogenic emissions, is biodegradable, non-toxic, non-flammable, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, is truly renewable (unlike other alternatively fuels such as Hydrogen and Fuel Cell whose energy is ultimately derived from crude hydrocarbon) and sulphur-free (does not cause acid rains).

Biodiesel is convenient to switch to because it is compatible with all unmodified diesel engines and even though there are only a few retail outlets throughout Singapore, it can be bought in bulk and stored easily because it is very stable at atmospheric pressure and will not ignite even under a naked flame. However, biodiesel is more expensive than diesel so some people might not want to make the switch even though it could reduce air pollution and carcinogenic emissions.

Hybrid Cars

A few car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota and Nissan have produced hybrid cars. A few examples are the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid. Hybrid cars have an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by batteries. At low speeds, the car is only powered by the electric motor and when the speed increases, the other engine is used.

The cost of hybrid cars is more expensive than conventional cars and to encourage more people to purchase hybrid cars, the government have lowered the road taxes for hybrid cars. The use of hybrid cars is also particularly effective in Singapore where there are often traffic jams in the city area and the cars move at a slow speed, thus only the electric motor is used.

Alternative Sources of Energy in Singapore (Gracia Lee 2-1)

An alternative source of energy is energy fuelled in ways that do not use up the earth's natural resources or harm the environment. There are some kinds of alternative energy sources used in Singapore...

Biodiesel
Biodiesel is used in cars and can be used alone or blended with conventional diesel. It is compatible with all diesel engines used in Singpore and made with either vegetable oil or a mixture of oils and residual animal fats from the food industry. Singapore has a few biodiesel plants that produces NExBTL diesel using a tecnique slightly different from the usual production of biodiesel, which is said to reduce carbon emisisons by 40-80% depending on the percentage of blending of the conventional diesel. I feel that it is quite effective in Singapore because people can use this source to power their cars and moreover, it helps lower the carbon emissions of a normal car using conventional diesel. If everyone uses this, it would bring the total amount of carbon emissions in our environment down. However, it is more expensive than the usual diesel which may deter some people from using it ad also there are very few biodiesel stations around Singapore.

Solar Energy
Singapore makes use of Solar energy in Changi Airport. To improve energy efficiency, the Changi airport group has implemented the use of natural lighting in passenger areas where possible and have double glazed glass and solar shading devices that lets in natural light while minimising heat gain from the sunlight which reduces the need for artificial lighting and stronger air conditioning. There are use of solar panels which can convert solar energy from the Sun into electricity for use. I feel that this is effective though very expensive. In Changi Airport's budget terminal, the savings from solar panels is $60,000, 10% of the cost annually for lighting. However, the payback period, or the return on invesment time is estimated to be around 10-20 years to recuperate the amount of money spent to purchase and implement the use of the soalr panels. In the long run, this would be effective since Singapore is a tropical climate country with sunshine almost all year round.

Hybrid Cars
Some people in Singapore do drive Hybrid cars manufactured by major companys like Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Audi. They reduce carbon emissions and these cars help fuel to last longer and puts the pressure off of oil and petrol. This is effective but may be expensive for some to afford. However, the government gives more tax rebates to those with hybrids.

Overall, I feel that Singapore has made good use of the alernative sources of energy available for usage. Even though all the options available seem expensive, they do save the environment in the long run. It is a pity that Singapore cannot use other forms like hydroelectricty, wind energy or tidal energy as we do not have strong waves or winds to allow the process of converting these types of energy into electricity.