IEA Chief Economist offers a look at our energy future

The era of cheap oil is over, and policies fall short of what is needed for a secure and sustainable energy future, says Dr Fatih Birol, Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency, in his lecture titled “A Glimpse into the Energy Fututre” at today’s EMA Distinguished Speaker Programme. This lecture is jointly organised by the Energy Market Authority and the Energy Studies Institute.

Era of cheap oil is over

Dr Birol shares that the era of cheap oil is over because of structural changes, and there is growing risk that the upturn in oil prices could undermine economic recovery.

On the demand side, strong growth from the transportation sector due to booming demand for mobility in emerging economies drives up oil use. The global car fleet continue to surge as more people in China and other emerging economies buy a car. Read more

GE Energy poll indicates that more than 9 in 10 Singaporeans view renewable energy positively [Press Releases]

Singapore – May 18, 2011 — ‘Global warming’ followed by ‘air pollution’ and ‘water pollution’ are Singaporeans’ top environmental concerns judging by a mood sampling poll commissioned by GE Energy recently. The poll, which randomly surveyed 350+ adults representing a cross section of society, named these three in a list which also included flora and fauna extinction, noise pollution and excessive use of non-biodegradable products.

Interestingly, respondents showed strong understanding of the causes of air pollution, accurately naming the burning of fossil fuels for power generation as one of the top three causes of air pollution. The survey also revealed that more than 4 in 5 Singaporeans believed that renewable energy (RE) would be necessary if we cared about the environment, though only about 2 in 3 could accurately identify sources of RE unaided.

“I think this level of public awareness is a positive start to Singapore’s plans to develop a Clean Energy Hub. It indicates that Singaporeans may be receptive to greater detail on sustainable development such as energy efficiency projects and next generation electric vehicles”, says Edwin Khew, Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore. Read more

Developing Renewable Energy and Carbon Abatement Projects in Southeast Asia

Venue: Seminar Room II, ISEAS

Speaker: Mr William I Y Byun, Managing Director, AsiaRenewables Pte Ltd, Singapore

AsiaRenewables Pte Ltd is an energy and infrastructure company focusing on the economic growth opportunities provided by renewable energy, carbon abatement, and industrial infrastructure projects and investments. AsiaRenewables acts as an end-to-end project developer and investor. It has offices in Singapore and Beijing and a project site office in Chennai, reflecting its focus on the Asian emerging markets of China, India and South East Asia.

Mr William Byun will speak on some of the practical challenges and opportunities in developing renewable energy and carbon abatement projects in Asia including:

• some of the political, social, and economic factors in renewable energy development;
• the real role of carbon credit markets in financing renewable energy projects;
• where “borderline” Annex I countries like Korea may be heading in terms of renewable/climate change; and
• some thoughts on where Southeast Asia could position itself for the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 in Copenhagen.

For details and registration, visit the ISEAS website.

Source: ISEAS

Possible Environmental Crises Facing Singapore and Appropriate Responses: The Case of the Poh Ern Shih Buddhist Temple

Venue: ISEAS Seminar Room II

Speaker: Mr Lee Boon Siong, Honorary President and Director, Poh Ern Shih Temple

The Poh Ern Shih Temple (Temple of Thanksgiving), built in 1954, is an ecologically friendly Buddhist temple located at Chwee Chian Hill, off Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore. In 2000, the Directors decided that the temple had to be redesigned to deal with the rising costs of water, electricity and an over-dependence on fossil fuel. It was noted that environmental degradation had been increasing over the decades and that adopting ecologically friendly technologies was the way to go in the age of rising global temperatures and climate change.

This seminar will focus on Poh Ern Shih Temple’s efforts to protect the environment. The temple takes advantage of Singapore’s abundant sunlight to produce: (i) Electricity by employing three different kinds of solar energy cells – Polycrystalline, Monocrystalline and Amorphous Cells (ii) Hotwater from Solar Heat Collector Cells in Solar Panels, and (iii) Night Lighting of its landscaping and common corridors with batteries charged by electricity collected from hybrid sets of wind/solar energy units.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s abundant rainfall has made it possible to (i) Irrigate the temple grounds (ii) Generate electricity via the deployment of Micro Hydrogenerators for charging the batteries of in-house motorized wheelchairs and lighting for its landscaping and common corridors as well as (iii) Conserve, collect and convert the rainwater to drinkable water by deploying Reverse Osmosis Techonology in Portable Filtration/UV Units available overseas in the event of natural disasters.

Finally, the temple is able to leverage on the abundance of a renewable resource, bamboo, (i) to reduce the culling of our valuable forests by deploying bamboo for all the temple’s new furniture wherever possible since it is readily available from neighbouring states and is a 5-year renewable resource as compared to a 100 year old or 300 year old oak or teak tree and (ii) to reduce the pollution from the steel industries, by making all its in-house new wheelchairs from bamboo.

For details and registration, visit the ISEAS website.

Source: ISEAS

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