Posted under Express 154

Facebook Co-Founder Meets Third Wave Power & GreenPost

Clean tech and clean energy are at the
forefront of innovation and techno-preneurship, if this year’s Techventures
2011 show is anything to go by.  Third
Wave Power won the ‘Techventures Asiasons Innovation Awards’ for Most Eco-Friendly
Start-up –  with its mPowerpad solar
device representing the most green consciousness of all start-ups, while in the
Most Valuable Application awards, the Solution of the Year was GreenPost by
Greenbills Pte Ltd.

Techventures report by Lim Yan Liang in
Straits Times (15 October 2011)

If you always had a nagging worry that your
groceries could cost less, there is now a quick way to check how much others
are paying for the same items across the island.

The LobangClub iPhone app turns any iPhone
into a barcode scanner using its camera, and then checks a database for prices
that other users have uploaded. At a glance, a shopper can see if other shops
nearby offer the same item at a lower price.

It is fitting, then, that the money-saving
app took home the Most Valuable Application award yesterday afternoon at the
second annual ‘Asia Top 50 Apps’ ceremony, part of the Techventure 2011
conference held at Marina Bay Sands.

WINNERS

•Most Valuable App – LobangClub by LobangClub

•Rookie of the Year – Moglue by Moglue, Inc

•Solution of the Year – GreenPost by
Greenbills Pte Ltd

•Design of the Year – Pocket OneMap by
Nanyang Polytechnic

•People’s Choice – Justin Ng Photo by Justin
Ng Photography.

The GreenPost app lets users aggregate all
their digital bills into one location for easy viewing. They can receive email
notifications for new or unpaid bills, download their bills in PDF, and archive
them. A feature to allow users to pay the bills directly through the app is
coming soon.

Source: www.straitstimes.com, www.sgentrepreneurs.com, & www.gogreenpost.com

 

Third Wave Power made waves at Techventure
2011 by winning the Most Eco-Friendly Start-up award.

“As winners, we get to be mentored by a panel
of successful entrepreneurs and innovators including Eduardo Saverin
(Co-founder of Facebook), Jared Lim (Founder and Managing Director of Asiasons
Capital Ltd) and Eddie Chau (Founder and CEO of Brandtology)”, says VS
Hariharan, Co-Founder of Third Wave Power.

Eduardo Saverin personally inspected the
product at the Techventures booth and pronounced it unique: “I have not seen
anything like it!”

It’s a great recognition for us and a
fantastic introduction for mPowerpad, which will be unveiled to the world very
soon.

Third Wave Power will be launching mPowerpad
at the Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA) 2011 to be held at Suntec City, Singapore
from 1 – 3 November 2011.

CEEA is the premier trade fair and conference
in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing together the leading players from the
technology, services, finance and government sectors, in order to address key
issues in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable
mobility solutions.

Come visit us at Booth F05 and be among the
first to try out mPowerpad. For more, visit www.thirdwavepower.com

 

 

15TH TECHVENTURE CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON
IDENTIFYING NEXT MAJOR INNOVATION IN ASIA

Singapore, 13 October 2011 – Techventure
2011, Asia‟s premier platform to connect financiers with budding innovators,
opened today with a record breaking number of delegate and exhibitor
registrations.

In its pivotal 15th year, the conference
brings together a diverse group of international participants that include
prominent technopreneurs and seasoned investors, who are gathered together to
identify the next major innovation from Asia.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo giving his opening
address at Techventure 2011

The conference saw a host of renowned heavy weights
from the finance community such as Mr. Tim Draper (Founder and Managing
Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson), Mr. Henry Nguyen (Managing General
Partner of IDG Ventures Vietnam) and Dr. Patrick Ennis (Global Head of
Technology of Intellectual Ventures), as well as the senior management of
well-known technology brands including Google, LinkedIN and Rovio, who were on
hand to share their thoughts on the conference theme of ‘The New Age of Asian
Innovation’.

“Given the emergence of Asia as a driving force
for innovation, we are hardly surprised with the overwhelming registrations for
Techventure 2011. Besides seeing an increase in the number of delegates to more
than 500, we have also welcomed participants from some 23 countries, elevating
Techventure into a truly global affair. In addition to the large turnout this
year, we are also pleased with the quality of participating exhibitors who are
showcasing innovations that could have a profound impact on the world of
tomorrow. Chosen from more than 200 registrants, the final 40 accepted exhibitors
ensure that only the top start-ups will be on display for investors looking to
invest in the growing community of Asian innovators.”, said Mohammed Azlan
Hashim, Chairman of Asiasons WFG Financial Ltd.

Held from the 13th to 14th of October 2011 at
the Marina Bay Sands‟ Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore,
Techventure 2011 is co-presented by National Research Foundation (“NRF”) and
the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (“SVCA”), organised
by Asiasons WFG and in partnership with SingTel Innov8.

Newly appointed Chairman of NRF, Deputy Prime
Minister Teo Chee Hean, was the Guest-of-Honour at this morning‟s opening
ceremony. The ceremony was followed by an impressive programme of keynotes and
panel discussions on topics such as „The Coming of Age of Asian Innovations‟
and “The Most Influential Investors‟ Perspectives on Asia‟s Growth
Opportunities‟.

Delegates this year also had a special treat
in the form of the „Up close and personal‟ session, which saw well known tech
personalities and investors like Mr. Eduardo Saverin (Co-Founder of Facebook),
Ms. Michelle Guthrie (Director of Strategic Business Development for Asia of
Google) and Mr. Nick Yang (Co- Founder of KongZhong Corporation) share their
secrets to success and take a wide range of questions from the floor of eager
participants.

The host of programmes designed to promote
local start-ups is the particular highlight of this year‟s conference.
Delegates to Techventure 2011 were able to visit an exhibition featuring 40 of
the nation‟s hottest new start-ups, covering industries such as next generation
Information and Communications Technology (“ICT”), Mobile Applications,
Biotechnology and Medical Technology. The popular „Pitch to the Stars‟ session,
for start-ups to make a three minute pitch of their business, has also been
revamped to feature a panel of celebrity judges that will provide a sterner
test for their ideas and more valuable insights for growth.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo visiting the
start-up exhibition at Techventure 2011 (From left: Dr Francis Yeoh, CEO of
NRF, Yong Ying-I, Permanent Secretary of National Research & Development, Mohammed
Azlan Hashim, Chairman of Asiasons WFG, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean,
Exhibitor at Techventure 2011)

In addition, Techventure 2011 featured the
inaugural ‘Techventure Asiasons Innovation Awards’ to honour and recognise
excellence in innovation and technopreneurship among promising start-ups. The winners
were announced on 13 October 2011 during the gala dinner, with winners
receiving their awards from Guest-of-Honour Minister for Trade and Industry,
Mr. Lim Hng Kiang.

This year’s winners are:

a) Clearbridge BioLoc Most Disruptive
Innovation – Game changing innovation that will make competitors obsolete

b) i3D Immersive Soundscape Best of show –
Most captivating exhibitor in Techventure Exhibition

c) Third Wave Power for Most Eco-Friendly
Start-up – Start-up with the most green consciousness

d) Sofshell for Coolest Innovation – Product
with the greatest potential to „wow‟ the market

e) Mr. Johnson Chen of Clearbridge BioMedics
for Rising Star Innovator – Technopreneur with skills and business acumen to be
the next big thing

Winners of each category will get the
opportunity to be mentored directly by a panel of successful entrepreneurs and
innovators, including Mr. Eduardo Saverin (Co-Founder of Facebook), Mr. Jared
Lim (Founder and Managing Director of Asiasons Capital Ltd) and Mr. Eddie Chau
(Founder and CEO of Brandtology).

“Having seen how start-ups utilise
Techventure as a springboard for growth, we have launched these awards to
further spur them in their commercialisation efforts. We believe the diverse range
ofm experience, from branding to raising funds, that the mentors can instil into
these start-ups will prove invaluable in the early stages and give them a head
start over competitors. In addition, start-ups can leverage on the profile
generated from the awards to raise awareness and build their branding. In particular,
we were impressed by Mr. Johnson Chen the Managing Partner of Clearbridge
BioMedics winner of the Rising Star Innovator award, who incubated the ClearCellTM
System which is the next generation of non-invasive „liquid biopsy‟ for
cancer.”, added Mr. Jared Lim, Founder and Managing Director of Asiasons
Capital Ltd and judge of ‘Techventure Asiasons Innovation Awards’.

Techventure 2011 moves into high gear in day
two with the start of Accelerate@Techventure 2011, organised by SingTel
Innovation Exchange and SingTel Innov8, to highlight pivotal technologies that
will, change enterprises and developer‟s businesses in the near future. Accelerate@Techventure
2011 will again feature its popular „Asia‟s Top 50 Apps‟ contest that allows
industry peers to nominate and vote for the top web and mobile applications for
the year. This year‟s nominees include local favourites like Chalkboard,
gothere.sg and ilovedeals.sg, with winners set to be announced during an award presentation
ceremony on the 14th of October 2011.

The National Research Foundation (NRF)

The National Research Foundation (NRF), set
up on 1 January 2006, is a department within the Prime Minister’s Office. The
NRF sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by
developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and
enterprise. It also funds strategic initiatives and builds up R&D
capabilities and capacities by nurturing local talents and attracting foreign
ones. In addition, it coordinates the research agenda of different agencies and
provides secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council
(RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister. The NRF aims to:

 Transform Singapore into a vibrant R&D
hub that contributes towards a knowledge-intensive, innovative and
entrepreneurial economy; and

 Make Singapore a talent magnet for
scientific and innovation excellence.

For more information, please visit
www.nrf.gov.sg. For more information, please visit www.nrf.gov.sg

Singapore Venture Capital & Private
Equity Association

Established in 1992, the Singapore Venture
Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA) is a not-for-profit organisation
formed to foster the growth of venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) in
Singapore and around the region. From a humble start of 2, our membership now
exceeds 100 and continues to grow with the industry’s development.

Since its inception, SVCA has championed
various efforts to promote the local VC/PE industry through talks, workshops,
seminars, conferences and networking events. The thrusts of SVCA continues to
be

 fostering a greater understanding of the
importance of venture capital and private equity to the

Singapore economy in support of
entrepreneurship and innovation;

 representing the local VC/PE industry
within and outside of Singapore;

 nurturing an environment conducive for
advancing VC/PE investment and profession; and

 providing a platform to match fund-seeking
businesses with our members and the investment community.

For more information about SVCA, please
visit: www.svca.org.sg.

Asiasons WFG

Asiasons WFG, is a subsidiary of Asiasons
Capital Ltd, a company listed on the Mainboard of the Stock Exchange of
Singapore and whose core business is in private equity investment and
management for the Emerging East Asia market. In a short span of time, Asiasons
WFG has grown from strength to strength with its rapid developments in the
Singapore capital market; and has since become a significant player in the financial
industry. It is associated with many successful listed companies in Singapore,
being lead manager for their Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). Asiasons WFG has
been ranked the top lead manager for IPOs in four consecutive years from 2002
to 2005 on the basis of number of IPOs lead managed and sponsored.

Asiasons WFG was one of the pioneers in
bringing companies from China to be listed on the Singapore Exchange. Since its
inception in June 2000, Asiasons WFG has successfully listed 77 companies on the
Singapore Exchange. These companies include those from Singapore, China, Hong
Kong, Malaysia, Australia and others in the region.

Asiasons WFG’s Vision is to be a premier
investment banking and financial group in South East Asia,bringing value to
small and medium sized companies in Asia. It has successfully established
itself in the Singapore capital market, and aspires to move forward towards a
presence in the region.

SingTel Innov8

SingTel Innov8 (Innov8), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the SingTel Group, is a corporate venture capital fund, with its
own set of decision making, approval and funding processes. It has an initial
fund size of S$200 million. Innov8 focuses its investments on technologies and
solutions that lead to quantum changes in network capabilities, next generation
devices, digital content services and enablers to enhance customer experience.
It works closely with the ecosystem of leading innovators, developers, government
agencies, R&D and capital providers to bring cutting-edge technologies and
solutions to the various markets the SingTel Group operates in.

Source: www.techventure.com.sg and www.thirdwavepower.com

 

Posted under Express 154

“Living Architecture” Brings Nature Back to the City

It would be hard to find a more obvious
example of a “magic look at the world” than the development of
Milan’s Bosco Verticale – two residential towers in the northern Italian city
that are on their way to becoming the world’s first vertical forest. The brainchild
of architect Stefano Boeri, the towers, measuring 110 and 76 metres, will house
over 900 trees, not to mention a wide range of shrubs and floral plants –
essentially the equivalent to a 10,000 square metre forest, growing vertically.

Sophie Vorrath in Climate Spectator (21
October 2011):

In a July TED talk on energy innovation, tech
entrepreneur and Nanoholdings CEO Justin Hall-Tipping spoke about the
importance of challenging our perceptions of “normal”. The tendency
of human beings, he said, “to look at our world through the lens of
‘normal,’ is one of the forces that stops us developing real solutions.”
And while Hall-Tipping was talking about his current work with a group of
“incredibly kind and brilliant” scientists – towards the lofty goal
of decentralising energy and, essentially, making it free for one and all –
it’s comforting to note that the art of taking a “magic look at the
world,” which Hall-Tipping points to as a key starting point for
innovation, seems to be catching on.

It would be hard to find a more obvious
example of a “magic look at the world” than the development of
Milan’s Bosco Verticale – two residential towers in the northern Italian city
that are on their way to becoming the world’s first vertical forest. As the
Financial Times reported last week, the project, the brainchild of architect
Stefano Boeri, includes a balcony planted with trees for each apartment.
“In summer, oaks and amelanchiers will shade the windows and filter the
city’s dust; in winter, sunlight will shrine through the bare branches,”
says Christopher Woodward, director of London’s Garden Museum, writing in the
FT.

But, as Hall-Tipping points out during his
talk, another key part of successful innovation – and to fixing some of the
world’s thornier problems – is to convert the magical into a working reality.
So, while Boeri “begins his presentation with Ovid’s fantasy of the nymph
Daphne being turned into a tree,” he quickly switches to the practical,
says Woodward, by showing that to achieve his building’s green metamorphosis
adds only 5 per cent to construction costs. Boeri also argues that the greening
of high-rise buildings is a necessary response to the sprawl of the modern
city.

Boeri’s magical ‘vertical wood’ has been made
possible due to a new collaboration between architects, engineers, and
botanists, says Woodward. “(He) has had to explain many times the
engineering and horticultural solutions required for an oak tree to grow up to
9m high on the 20th floor of a busy modern city. At the same time, this new
movement is a visionary reclamation of the nature that has vanished from our
cities.”

So how will it work? According to Gizmag, the
towers, measuring 110 and 76 meters, will house over 900 trees, not to mention
a wide range of shrubs and floral plants – essentially the equivalent to a
10,000 square meter forest, growing vertically. As well as being what Boeri
describes as a “device for the environmental survival of contemporary
European cities” (he also describes it as part of the “living architecture”
movement, says Woodward, which differs from the legislation-driven “green
architecture” model in that it focuses on “how cities should
feel”), the greenery will help to produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust
particles, and produce oxygen, thus improving quality of life for residents,
while also shielding the building from radiation and noise pollution. The
towers will house irrigation and filtering systems which will recycle grey
water for upkeep of the plants, while solar PV will help power the building.

All this will cost an estimated €65 million
($US87.5 million), says Gizmag, and is just the first stage of Boeri’s proposed
BioMilano – a grand plan to create a green belt around Milan, encompassing 60
abandoned farms on the city’s outskirts and restoring them to community use.

http://www.climatespectator.com.au

Posted under Express 154

If Columbus is Blamed for Little Ice Age, who Caused the Climate to Change?

By sailing to the New World, Christopher
Columbus and the other explorers who followed may have set off a chain of
events that cooled Europe’s climate for centuries. The European conquest of the
Americas decimated the people living there, leaving large areas of cleared land
untended. This strongly suggests we humans have been tampering with climate for
centuries. New World pandemics were a major event that can’t be ignored — a
tragedy that highlighted mankind’s ability to influence the climate long before
the industrial revolution.

Depopulation of Americas may have cooled
climate

By Devin Powell in Science News October 13th,
2011    T

MINNEAPOLIS — By sailing to the New World,
Christopher Columbus and the other explorers who followed may have set off a
chain of events that cooled Europe’s climate for centuries.

The European conquest of the Americas
decimated the people living there, leaving large areas of cleared land
untended. Trees that filled in this territory pulled billions of tons of carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere, diminishing the heat-trapping capacity of the
atmosphere and cooling climate, says Richard Nevle, a geochemist at Stanford
University.

“We have a massive reforestation event that’s
sequestering carbon … coincident with the European arrival,” says Nevle, who
described the consequences of this change October 11 at the Geological Society
of America annual meeting.

Tying together many different lines of
evidence, Nevle estimated how much carbon all those new trees would have
consumed. He says it was enough to account for most or all of the sudden drop
in atmospheric carbon dioxide recorded in Antarctic ice during the 16th and
17th centuries. This depletion of a key greenhouse gas, in turn, may have
kicked off Europe’s so-called Little Ice Age, centuries of cooler temperatures
that followed the Middle Ages.

By the end of the 15th century, between 40 million
and 80 million people are thought to have been living in the Americas. Many of
them burned trees to make room for crops, leaving behind charcoal deposits that
have been found in the soils of Mexico, Nicaragua and other countries.

About 500 years ago, this charcoal
accumulation plummeted as the people themselves disappeared. Smallpox,
diphtheria and other diseases from Europe ultimately wiped out as much as 90
percent of the indigenous population.

Trees returned, reforesting an area at least
the size of California, Nevle estimated. This new growth could have soaked up
between 2 billion and 17 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the air.

Ice cores from Antarctica contain air bubbles
that show a drop in carbon dioxide around this time. These bubbles suggest that
levels of the greenhouse gas decreased by 6 to 10 parts per million between
1525 and the early 1600s.

“There’s nothing else happening in the rest
of the world at this time, in terms of human land use, that could explain this
rapid carbon uptake,” says Jed Kaplan, an earth systems scientist at the
Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Natural processes may have also played a role
in cooling off Europe: a decrease in solar activity, an increase in volcanic
activity or colder oceans capable of absorbing more carbon dioxide. These
phenomena better explain regional climate patterns during the Little Ice Age,
says Michael Mann, a climate researcher at Pennsylvania State University in State
College.

But reforestation fits with another clue
hidden in Antarctic ice, says Nevle. As the population declined in the
Americas, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere got heavier. Increasingly, molecules
of the gas tended to be made of carbon-13, a naturally occurring isotope with
an extra neutron. That could be because tree leaves prefer to take in gas made
of carbon-12, leaving the heavier version in the air.

Kaplan points out that there’s a lot of
uncertainty in such isotope measurements, so this evidence isn’t conclusive.
But he agrees that the New World pandemics were a major event that can’t be
ignored — a tragedy that highlighted mankind’s ability to influence the climate
long before the industrial revolution.

Source: www.sciencenews.org

Posted under Express 154

The Global Energy Landscape, Viewed from Singapore

Experts surveying the global energy landscape
have warned of a challenging future where power demand is set to double by
2030, even as the world grapples with climate change and the urgency to reduce
mounting greenhouse gas emissions.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that energy
and energy security have emerged as top concerns for governments worldwide, and
in Singapore – a land-scarce urban nation that is almost completely reliant on
energy imports – this is no exception.

Policymakers on this small island in
Southeast Asia have responded by being flexible and thinking long-term about
the future energy landscape.

A preview by Eco-Business ahead of the
upcoming Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) held from 31 October to 4
November. Read More

 

Jenny Marusiak in eco-business.com (20
October 2011):

Experts surveying the global energy landscape
have warned of a challenging future where power demand is set to double by
2030, even as the world grapples with climate change and the urgency to reduce
mounting greenhouse gas emissions.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that energy
and energy security have emerged as top concerns for governments worldwide, and
in Singapore – a land-scarce urban nation that is almost completely reliant on
energy imports – this is no exception.

Policymakers on this small island in
Southeast Asia have responded by being flexible and thinking long-term about
the future energy landscape

The cornerstone of that strategy has been the
liberalisation and diversification of Singapore’s energy market – a process
overseen by a statutory board formed in 2001 known as the Energy Market
Authority (EMA).

In an exclusive interview with Eco-Business
ahead of the upcoming Singapore International Energy Week, EMA chief executive
Chee Hong Tat noted that the liberalisation process has made good progress, but
it had required rapid adaptation on the part of the EMA in its early days.

“Back in 2001, we were only in the early
phase of market deregulation. The newly-formed EMA, which was charged with the
task of overseeing the liberalisation process, faced a steep learning curve,”
said Mr Chee in an email interview.

The EMA studied electricity market models in
other countries, primarily Australia and New Zealand, and developed its own
model that today allows 75 per cent of Singapore’s electricity demand to be met
through competitive markets.

Since the EMA was established, Singapore’s
reliance on fuel oil for electricity has decreased from 75 per cent in 2000 to
15 per cent in 2009. Oil has been replaced largely by natural gas, which is
cheaper and cleaner than fuel oil. Today, Singapore generates about 80 per cent
of its electricity from natural gas.

Currently, all of Singapore’s natural gas
supply is piped in from its neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia. This will change
with the completion of the Republic’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)
terminal in 2013.

LNG is natural gas that is compressed to a
fraction of its original volume, which enables it to be easily transported
around the world, supplying countries with another source of energy.

Mr Chee noted that the need to protect
against supply disruptions prompted the government’s 2009 decision to develop
the LNG terminal and diversify its fuel mix. “It will enable Singapore to
broaden its access to fuel sources from around the world,” he explained.

Now that its LNG facility will soon be
completed, the EMA will have to focus on securing a steady supply of the fuel,
he said. The agency is currently studying its options for obtaining LNG from
reliable sources at competitive prices and will launch a consultation exercise
next year for the industry.

Even while putting considerable efforts into
LNG energy supplies, the EMA recognises the need for other solutions to ensure energy
security.

“Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet,”
said Mr Chee, adding that energy security has become an increasingly complex
challenge in light of the twin issues of declining fossil fuel supplies and
climate change.

Clean and sustainable energy

Mr Chee shared that the key to energy
security is obtaining energy that is competitively priced, diversified and
widely available, but that it must be clean and sustainable too.

While Singapore does not have significant
renewable energy options such as hydro-power, wind, wave or sufficient land for
mass solar energy production, it has not ruled out such possibilities, said Mr
Chee.

“We recognise that technology is changing,
and energy solutions that are not feasible for Singapore today may become
viable in future,” he said.

With this in mind, the EMA has committed to
working with industry players, research institutions and other government agencies
to explore new energy options for Singapore. It aims to position Singapore as a
“living lab” for public-private partnerships, or joint ventures between companies
and government agencies.

Under the living lab concept, Singapore’s
agencies give companies the chance to carry out the development, testing and
commercialisation of clean technology solutions in a real-life, highly
urbanised setting.

Goh
Chee Kiong, who is director of cleantech for Singapore’s Economic Development
Board (EDB) – one of the government agencies that helps develop the public
private partnerships for the living lab concept – told Eco-Business that the
living lab approach gives Singapore an advantage in attracting global companies
from the energy industry.

“Already we are seeing the growth of the
clean energy ecosystem in Singapore,” he said, noting that projects such as
Singapore’s Punggol Eco-Town project – a district-level green building project
involving EDB, the EMA and Singapore’s Housing and Development Board – has
attracted companies such as the Japanese electronics firm Panasonic.

In August, the three local agencies inked a
public-private partnership with Panasonic to integrate solar technology,
fuel-cell batteries and Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) into an existing public
housing block.

The project will also contribute data to an
EMA smart grid project called the Intelligent Energy System (IES), which was
started in 2009 to determine how best to prepare Singapore’s electricity demand
and distribution for future energy scenarios that include more renewable energy
sources and electric vehicles.

At the same time that Singapore is exploring
the effects of electric vehicles on smart grids, its agencies are supporting
projects to promote the uptake of electric vehicles. The EMA, EDB and the Land
Transport Authority are working with technology companies Bosch and Greenlots
on trials involving charging infrastructure.

The EMA and the other government agencies
involved in the projects fill the roles of technology partner, talent developer
and sophisticated end-user for the private sector, said Mr Goh, adding that EDB
supports and connects the partnerships between the suppliers and adopters of
innovative sustainable energy solutions.

He noted that Singapore’s business-friendly
policies have also attracted firms in the renewable energy sector. Global wind
energy firms Vestas, DNV and Gamesa have set up R&D centres in Singapore,
and Singapore’s solar energy research institute (SERIS) has partnered with
solar companies such as Norway’s Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) and Chinese
solar manufacturer Trina Solar.

Other solar companies are benefitting from
the recent innovations in Singapore’s nascent solar industry. For example,
Singapore’s first solar leasing agreement was announced last month for Punggol
Eco-Town, where the EMA’s smart grid study is paving the way for more
widespread use of alternative energy initiatives.

Under leasing agreements, building owners who
want clean energy without high up-front costs can hire firms such as local
solar manufacturer Sunseap Enterprises to install and maintain solar equipment.
The building owners can then purchase the electricity from the solar company.

Managing
director of Singapore firm Phoenix Solar, Christophe Inglin, told Eco-Business
that Singapore agencies have been open to leasing schemes and other initiatives
such as allowing commercial properties to feed extra renewable energy they
produce into the national grid. They also reward building developers who
incorporate clean energy technology into buildings by granting higher green
building ratings.

That flexibility has helped the solar
industry’s recent growth here, he said, but the Government’s primary influence
has been its determination not to distort the electricity market to provide
artificially low power costs to businesses and households.

“Singapore has been in resolute in not subsidising
electricity,” he said.

Mr Inglin noted that while this has meant
that the industry could not rely on the incentives that support the solar
industries in parts of Europe, it has led to higher retail electricity rates.
The result, he explained, is that as the cost of producing solar energy gets
lower, it is becoming commercially viable in Singapore ahead of other markets.

Meanwhile, EMA’s Mr Chee said that the EMA
will continue to invest in new energy research to enhance Singapore’s energy
security, widen its range of energy options, improve energy efficiency and
lower its carbon emissions.

All these issues will be among the topics
discussed at the EMA-sponsored Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) held
from 31 October to 4 November. The event, now in its fourth year, gathers
policy-makers, energy experts and industry leaders to exchange ideas that
promote long-term global energy security.

It will feature keynote speaker Nobuo Tanaka,
former executive director of the International Energy Agency, who will share
his views on the current energy challenges facing the world when he delivers
the Singapore Energy Lecture.

Other highlights of the week will include the
Singapore Energy Summit, a high-level discussion on international energy
policy, and a number of concurrent conferences on renewable and conventional
forms of energy, smart grids, and energy and carbon trading.

The event, which has attracted more than
14,000 participants from more than 60 countries in previous years, will also
feature speakers such as Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser, GE
Energy smart grid solutions project global director Bartosz Wojszczyk, and the Asian
Development Bank director of sustainable infrastructure Gil-Hong Kim.

Mr Chee said that the EMA was hosting the
event to contribute to the global debate required to reshape the energy
landscape for a more sustainable future.

He noted that to succeed, closer
collaboration between the private and public sectors was needed to share
innovations and expertise.

“No single country will have all the answers
to tackle energy and climate change challenges,” he said.

Source: www.eco-business.com