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505545
Fri, 09/21/2018 - 08:08
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Connecting The Unconnected With Future Energy

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Bernama) — Powering an off-grid location in Malaysia and other parts of the world might see a new solution as early as the end of this month, with Semakau Island in the southern coast of Singapore being a key for it. The landfill island, about a 40-minute boat ride from the main island of Singapore, has become a testing ground for French multinational company Schneider Electric with the cooperation of Engie and Nanyang Technology University to test out a new technology dubbed as the Sustainable Powering of Off-Grid Region (SPORE), a cutting-edge research project into green and cost-effective energy for off-grid regions. The work began in 2016, with the companies building a small, self-contained power grid to demonstrate the usefulness of hydrogen gas in converting intermittent power from renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines into stored fuel that can generate electricity for days or even months. Schneider Electric South East Asia Senior Project Manager Soni Wibisono said the project is still at the commissioning stage. “Based on the agreement between all the companies involved, we target to finish around June 2019, we target this month to finish the commissioning and then we will have a research study until June 2019. “The research study will mainly focus on the algorithms for the microgrid controller, because we developed an advanced controller. Other types of microgrid controller are already available in the market, but for this we want to give additional features, an advanced algorithm which can maintain different types of energy sources when connected to the grid,” he told reporters when met on the island recently. The tour to the island with the media and potential clients was held in conjunction with the company’s Innovation Summit 2018, in which throughout the two-day event starting Sept 20, it featured the microgrid as one of the highlights. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric Global Microgrid Business Developer Francois Guillaume explained that population, vast territories and energy demand are the top three drivers for such a technology in the Southeast Asia region. He said of the 640 million people in the region, 65 million remain without electricity and 250 million rely on biomass for cooking. “Countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are archipelago nations, with both having a combined 24,000 islands, making it difficult to provide electricity to these places. “Furthermore by 2040, Southeast Asia’s energy demand is projected to grow by almost two-thirds, making the need for renewable energy much more crucial,” he said. He clarified that this microgrid, however, unlike other microgrids available in the market, will use 100 per cent renewable energy, the first of its kind in the world. Explaining further, Schneider Electric Energy Commercial Utility Segment President Carola Puusteli said the system obviates the need to use conventional diesel generators to power electricity, as it stores energy in a battery connected via a smart controller, further reducing its carbon footprint. “This is actually our biggest segment in the company, our core business, and our vision is to decrease the carbon footprint and double the supply,” she said. Schneider Electric Asia Pacific Commercial Vice President Benjamin Neumann said the technology is more reliable and cleaner for the environment, and once commercialised could be used to serve a single building, large sites, districts or any location that needs access to electricity. “The appetite for such a technology I would say is not only in Southeast Asia but also in the rest of the world. I believe large companies such as Coca-cola would be interested to invest in such a technology to be a good citizen and to help reduce the carbon footprint,” he said. — BERNAMA

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