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SINGAPORE: Singapore has deployed its first utility-scale energy storage system at a substation in Woodlands, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) said on Thursday (October 22).
Its capacity is equivalent to powering more than 200 four-bedroom HDB homes in one day, the authority said in a press release.
“Solar energy is the most viable renewable energy source for Singapore,” EMA said.
However, solar energy faces intermittence challenges due to cloud cover and rain in Singapore’s tropical climate.
These challenges can be mitigated with the energy storage system, which enables the storage of solar energy for later use.
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“The rapid response nature of ESS will also help maintain a reliable source of power supply when solar installations are affected by climate change.
“These advantages are key enablers for Singapore to maximize solar power as one of the four switches in Singapore’s Energy Story,” said EMA.
The energy storage system will participate in the wholesale electricity market to mitigate intermittency and reduce demand peaks.
It will also provide information on the performance of energy storage systems in Singapore’s hot and humid environment, and help establish technical guidelines, the authority said.
Singapore’s first utility-scale energy storage system was implemented in October 2020 (Photo: Energy Market Authority).
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“This is critical to supporting Singapore’s target of at least 2 gigawatts peak of solar deployment by 2030,” said EMA Chief Executive Ngiam Shih Chun.
“The deployment of ESS, designed for local conditions, will allow us to bring more renewable energy and other sustainable energy solutions into our power grid,” said SP Group CEO Stanley Huang.
The energy storage system was jointly funded by EMA and SP Group, and implemented by a consortium comprised of local solar energy firm Sunseap Energy Ventures, Nanyang University of Technology, and Finnish energy solutions provider Wartsila.
On Thursday, EMA also announced the deployment of distributed energy storage systems in electrical distribution rooms for five HDB blocks in Punggol.
The project seeks to address solar intermittency for large-scale solar installations by using HDB blocks as test sites.
“In the future, the insights gained from this project will demonstrate how it can potentially be applied for future deployments in Singapore,” said EMA.
