Biofuel-driven energy grid launched on Pulau Ubin

SINGAPORE — About 30 residents and business operators on Pulau Ubin have signed up for electricity from the Energy Market Authority’s micro-grid test bed, which was built to test the impact of renewable energy sources like solar energy on grid operations.

Renewable and greener sources of energy can be unreliable as they are dependent on weather conditions.

Electricity from the micro-grid is harnessed from biodiesel — derived from used cooking oil — and solar energy, and is cheaper, cleaner and more reliable than the generators islanders currently tap on.

The planning and construction of the micro-grid was started two years ago by a local consortium comprising two companies, Daily Life Renewable Energy and OKH Holdings.

Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran witnessed the launch of the project on the island this morning.

“The learning points from the test-bed will help to enhance our ability to manage intermittent energy sources,” he said. “It will enable Singapore to maximise 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.”

With the micro-grid’s completion, EMA will explore how other companies and research organisations could use it as a platform to develop energy-related technologies and solutions.