In the article “How can Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition be sped up?”, Daubach (2019) states the challenges Southeast Asia faces in regards to transiting towards clean energy and how to speed up the use of it. The article discuss that Southeast Asia is a diverse region with economies growing at different speeds. Therefore, a single approach will not be adequate in progressing towards a clean energy future; customized solutions are advised. Daubach mentions that in order to proceed with the transition, usage of low-carbon technologies needs to be increased. However, some methods suggested like the use of nuclear fusion are not affordable for Singapore. In addition, it is observed that countries like Singapore consume a large amount of energy, and needs to look at new energy sources, together with lessening the usage of energy whilst preserving the same habits. While Daubach believes that Southeast Asia will be at risk of global warming if coal usage is not being cut off completely, I believe that countries like Singapore could use alternative methods such as using solar and waste energy to reduce the risk of global warming.
Despite the lack of
resources available in Singapore, the usage of solar is one of the more
feasible renewable energy for Singapore to reduce the risk of global warming. Deployment
of solar is targeted to quadrupled by 2025, working towards deploying 1.5 GWp,
and at least 2GWp by 2030 (Tan, 2021). In the last quarter of 2020, the
installation of existing solar energy systems has increased to close to seven
times in the past 5 years, hence contributing to close to 1 percent of
Singapore’s electricity demands (Ngiam. S.C as cited in Tan, 2021). Thus, I
feel that Singapore is on the right track in transiting to the usage of cleaner
energy to reduce global warming. In order to lessen the inconsistency of solar
energy produced due to the tropical climate, the excess energy will be stored
in the Energy Storage Systems (ESS) which can power more than 200 4-room HDB
households for a day (CNA, 2020). By using the ESS, it facilitates the country
to consolidate a large amount of sustainable energy into the country’s electricity
grid which can be used in the future. Singapore has targeted to deploy a
large-scale solar installation in HDB blocks to gain judgement for future
developments.
In addition, according
to the article “Harvest green energy through energy recovery from waste”,
Singapore can use waste energy to solve waste management problems and yet
supply sustainable energy, killing two birds with one stone. In this aspect,
Singapore has worked around it, resulting in 2% of electricity demands
contributed by Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) (Tong, H. et al. 2018). MSW includes
everyday items we use and disposes of them away from such as paper, cardboard,
food waste, animal manure, which are considered to be carbon-neutral and
environmentally friendly. Since the amount of carbon dioxide produced during
the decomposition of MSW is being eliminated by using it for photosynthesis, it
is generally not associated with the contribution of global warming.
On the contrary to
the former, the usage of solar poses some disadvantages to the environment.
According to iSwitch (n.d), the production of solar panels produces nitrogen
trifluoride which is a type of greenhouse gas that is more than a thousand
times influential to global warming as compared to carbon dioxide. Henceforth, I
personally feel that even though the usage of solar do reduce the risk of
global warming, to produce the solar panel itself for usage would have already
done damage to it.
All in all, with
Singapore setting goals for the future into transiting towards clean energy via
alternatives method available, it is still essential for the country to also
consider the pros and cons of each of the methods so as to achieve desirable
results. In my opinion, even though
Singapore is known as just a “little red dot” on the map, efforts and
contributions made by the country will still impact greatly on a global scale.
Reference List:
CNA (2020, October
22). Singapore deploys energy storage systems to help maintain reliable
source of solar power supply. Retrieved October 6, 2021, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/energy-storage-system-first-utility-scale-deployed-ema-1339826
Daubach, T. (2019,
July 19). How can Southeast Asia's clean energy transition be sped up? Eco-Business. Retrieved
September 27, 2021, from https://www.eco-business.com/news/how-can-southeast-asias-clean-energy-transition-be-sped-up/
iSwitch (n.d). Solar
energy pros & cons: what you need to know. Retrieved October 9, 2021,
from https://iswitch.com.sg/solar-energy-pros-cons/
National Climate
Change Secretariat (2021, August 13). Singapore’s approach to alternative
energy. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.nccs.gov.sg/singapores-climate-action/singapore-approach-to-alternative-energy/
Tan, E. (2021, April 28). Solar
shines as Singapore's energy alternative; international collaboration is key. The
Business Time. Retrieved October 6, 2021, from https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/solar-shines-as-singapores-energy-alternative-international-collaboration-is-key
Tong, H., Yao, Z.,
Lim, J. W., Mao, L., Zhang, J., Tian, S. G., Peng, Y. H., Wang, C.-H., &
Tong, Y. W. (2018). Harvest green energy through energy recovery from waste:
A technology review and an assessment of Singapore. Retrieved October 6,
2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com.singaporetech.remotexs.co/science/article/pii/S1364032118306580
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