$20m carrot for building owners to go solar

By Jessica Cheam, ST

Tapping the sun’s energy has just been made easier for building owners.

The Government yesterday announced details of a $20 million scheme that could see as many as 100 solar projects sprout around Singapore in the next two years.

The carrot being dangled in front of private developers and building owners is a subsidy that trims the cost of a solar project by 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

The grant is capped at $1 million for each project.

Solar projects usually cost from $100,000 to a few million dollars, depending on the scale and technology used.

‘This is a very attractive offer… We expect keen interest from the industry,’ said Economic Development Board (EDB) managing director Ko Kheng Hwa, who unveiled the initiative yesterday at the annual Semicon Singapore conference at Suntec City.

The top priority of the Solar Capability Scheme, said Mr Ko, is to build up a critical mass of projects so as to develop manpower capabilities in Singapore’s fledgling solar industry.

‘We are focusing on boosting the demand side…so the local professionals will learn how to design good solar systems.’

The scheme, first mooted by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran in Parliament in March, is the Government’s latest answer to increasing calls for incentives to kick-start the solar industry.

The sector has attracted headline investments in the last year, including a $6.3 billion giant solar manufacturing plant that Norwegian firm Renewable Energy Corp is building.

‘This scheme will go a long way in building up critical capabilities among various players in the solar energy ecosystem,’ said Mr Ko.

It starts with immediate effect and applies to new private buildings that meet a minimum Green Mark Gold standard, according to the EDB.

The Green Mark is a rating system developed by the Building and Construction Authority that rates buildings for their environmental impact and performance.

Developers like City Developments have already incorporated solar systems into new condos, which have been given the Green Mark stamp of approval.

Some factors that will determine the grant size include innovation, design, effectiveness and skills development, said Mr Ko.

The EDB also announced yesterday a new international advisory panel for clean energy that will hold its first meeting next month.

Industry players like Mr Christophe Inglin, the managing director of solar firm Phoenix Solar, hailed the new scheme, saying: ‘It’s the best news the industry has received for some time.

‘We’ve seen an increase in interest in solar systems. Hopefully, this boost will convince clients that solar is the way to go.’

S’pore sets up R&D centre for solar energy

By Jessica Cheam, ST

Harnessing the sun’s heat to cool a building might seem counter-intuitive.

But innovative ideas such as this are exactly what Singapore’s newly established solar research institute hopes to turn into reality.

A new research and development (R&D) centre to cement Singapore’s position as a serious solar energy player was unveiled yesterday.

It was set up by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the multi-agency Clean Energy Programme Office, managed by the Economic Development Board (EDB).

The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, or Seris, will get $130 million to spend over the next five years and aims to be a leading solar R&D centre in Asia, said EDB yesterday.

The centre has scored a coup by attracting Professor Joachim Luther from Germany, outgoing head of the world-renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, one of Europe’s leading solar energy R&D centres.

Prof Luther said he was offered the post of Seris chief executive by NUS and EDB after talks that started last July. He said he was attracted by the opportunities here.

‘I like to make things happen – $130 million is a very reasonable budget and we can do a lot,’ said Prof Luther. He will lead an initial team of 25 researchers at Seris, which will begin operations in April at a location near NUS.

It aims to have a laboratory size of 5,000 sq m in the next five years.

Prof Luther said yesterday the centre’s holy grail is to bring down the costs of harvesting solar energy by 50 to 70 per cent through R&D.

Three research focus areas have also been identified: R&D in silicon-based solar cells to find more efficient ways of using silicon, novel photovoltaic devices and materials and innovative solutions for solar and energy efficient buildings.

Prof Luther added that he has already contacted several top-notch foreign solar researchers to join the team. The institute expects to grow to 90 researchers, and produce 50 doctorate and 20 master’s students in five years.

EDB managing director Ko Kheng Hwa described Seris as filling a ‘critical R&D gap’ in Singapore’s solar sector.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, who was guest of honour at the launch, cited the event as ‘yet another milestone in Singapore’s development of the clean energy eco-system’.

The global solar market was estimated at US$30 billion (S$42.4 billion) last year and is projected to continue its strong growth rate to reach more than US$100 billion by 2011, said Mr Iswaran.

‘Successful R&D has been and will continue to be the differentiating factor between the success stories,’ he said.

Industry players such as Mr Christophe Inglin, managing director of solar firm Phoenix Solar, welcomed the news, saying that such an R&D institute was ‘long overdue’.

‘The research areas are also commendable, and well positioned to break new ground,’ said Mr Inglin. ‘What’s left missing in the whole picture now is a local market for us to try the technology out ourselves.’