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Thursday, October 8, 2020 – 4:37 pm
The National Environment Agency (NEA), the Economic Development Board (EDB), and the Buildings and Construction Authority (BCA) have launched three new grants to help companies make an early switch to water chillers that use refrigerants lower global warming potential (GWP). .
The new grants come as the NEA plans to restrict the supply of water-cooled chillers using high-GWP refrigerants beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022, the NEA, EDB and BCA said Thursday in a joint press release.
The change will help reduce Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions from the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, where HFCs are commonly used as refrigerants in equipment. When released into the environment, HFCs are more powerful than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming.
On the other hand, low GWP refrigerant chillers, which are more energy efficient, generally result in lower energy costs. However, they have higher upfront costs compared to high-GWP refrigerant chillers.
BCA will administer one of the new grants under a scheme called the Low-GWP Refrigerant Chiller Grant, which supports eligible owners or operators of existing building types similar to those regulated by the Building Control Regulations (Environmental Sustainability Measures for Existing Buildings) from 2013.
Meanwhile, grants for industrial facilities and data centers will come under the existing Energy Efficiency Fund, administered by NEA, and the Resource Efficiency Grant for Energy, administered by EDB.
The grants will also fund part of the cost of low-GWP refrigerated chillers for space cooling.
Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu said: “Climate change is an existential challenge for Singapore, requiring a nationwide response and efforts from all sectors to reduce emissions.”
Businesses that do not meet any of the above criteria can contact NEA to verify their eligibility for the grant, according to the press release.
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