- 1 week ago
From coal to natural gas, Singapore's energy journey keeps evolving. How is natural gas powering our homes today, and what's next in our shift toward cleaner energy?
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00:00How does your electricity get to you?
00:02And whose dog is that?
00:14Can you imagine your life without electricity?
00:17Think about it.
00:18You wouldn't be watching this video without it.
00:20We don't give much thought into the energy we consume
00:23or where it comes from.
00:25So, we begin our journey today
00:27at one of Singapore's first power plants.
00:36Risa, St James Power Station.
00:38Do you know this is one of the oldest power stations in Singapore?
00:41But why aren't buildings like these in use anymore?
00:44In the 1900s, coal was used for generating electricity
00:48because it was easily transportable.
00:51And then there was the oil boom.
00:53And we started using fuel oil in the 1960s.
00:56St James Power Station was one of the first power stations
00:59to use fuel oil to generate electricity.
01:02So, we moved from coal to fuel oil.
01:05So, what are we generating electricity from now?
01:08Today, 95% of our electricity is generated from natural gas.
01:12And that switch came around the 1990s.
01:15It's much cleaner than coal and fuel oil.
01:17But also, the process to generate from natural gas is more efficient.
01:22And therefore, it is cheaper.
01:24So, what were some of the early concerns
01:26when it came to energy and electricity in Singapore?
01:28You know, Risa, when we were independent in 1965,
01:32not every home had electricity.
01:34In fact, it was considered quite a luxury
01:38to have your home fully powered.
01:40My parents were telling me that when they were young,
01:42they were using kerosene lamps to study at night.
01:45So, literally burning midnight oil.
01:47The government started a programme
01:49to make sure that electricity was accessible, affordable,
01:53and later on as we progressed as a nation,
01:56to have reliable supply of electricity.
01:59Natural gas accounts for 95% of Singapore's electricity production.
02:12And it's at facilities like this
02:13where its journey from fuel to power begins.
02:20So, where exactly are we and what's happening here?
02:22So, we're at SEMCOP's power plant in Jurong Island today.
02:25Here's where we actually import natural gas
02:28to produce electricity.
02:29And where exactly are we?
02:31Because I guess I always imagine that a power plant
02:33would be like a singular building or several buildings,
02:35but there seems to be so many things happening around us.
02:38This entire area comprises about 15 hectares,
02:40and the power plant isn't exactly just one centralised building.
02:44It actually is a compound that has a few parts to it.
02:47On the left, you'll see large tubes.
02:49These are actually bringing seawater for our cooling needs.
02:52We have boilers at the back.
02:54We have a gas turbine.
02:55We have a heat recovery steam generator.
02:57So, there are a few parts that actually make up a power plant.
03:00How much electricity is generated here?
03:02So, this is SEMCOP's first power plant.
03:03We established this over two decades ago.
03:05So, we've produced enough electricity here
03:07to meet maybe about 10% of Singapore's requirements
03:10or over a million households.
03:12I see.
03:17So, could you give us an overview of SEMCOP's operations
03:20and what is their role within Singapore's energy landscape?
03:23So, SEMCOP is a Singaporean energy company,
03:25and today we meet about 30% of Singapore's energy needs,
03:28and this is both gas as well as power.
03:30Now, even though Singapore is home market,
03:32SEMCOP has its operations in over 10 countries globally.
03:35SEMCOP was the first importer of natural gas to Singapore.
03:38Together with its partners, we built a 600km pipeline
03:41from Jurong Island all the way to the West Natuna Sea in Indonesia.
03:45That allowed us to import natural gas through Singapore.
03:48And these pipes are under the sea?
03:50Exactly.
03:51Deep, deep into the...
03:52They sit on the seabed.
03:53Oh, and 600km of that?
03:55So, for context, Singapore is about 50km wide.
03:58So, that's like more than 10 times of Singapore's length from East to West.
04:03Exactly.
04:04Oh.
04:05So, if and when low carbon fuel becomes more readily available,
04:09can it be supplied into the COGEN power plant?
04:11SEMCOP is currently building a new power plant.
04:13It's a 600MW power plant.
04:15And that would be able to actually burn both natural gas and hydrogen.
04:20Hydrogen, if produced through sustainable means,
04:22would actually be a zero carbon fuel.
04:24And that would result in a product that would actually be much lower
04:27than the typical carbon emissions levels of a natural gas-based power plant.
04:31Right, so it's a more sustainable option in that way.
04:33Exactly.
04:34Right.
04:35So...
04:36Of course, natural gas is not a renewable fuel source,
04:49but it is a crucial component of Singapore's energy supply.
04:52However, renewable options like this floating solar farm are quickly growing.
04:57We're at SEMCOP Tenge's floating solar farm.
04:59Here, we harness the sun's energy and turn it into electricity.
05:02Spanning across 45 hectares of the reservoir,
05:06we have about 122,000 panels generating electricity that could power approximately 16,000 HDB flats.
05:15And very importantly, it also helps us to avoid carbon emissions.
05:19About 31 kilotons of carbon emissions.
05:22And that is equivalent to removing 7,000 cars off the road.
05:25Oh, 7,000. Right.
05:27What is SEMCOP's role in Singapore's renewable energy development?
05:30SEMCOP is Singapore's largest homegrown renewables player.
05:33And SEMCOP Solar is Singapore's largest solar developer.
05:36And we contribute more than 50% of Singapore's solar targets.
05:39We have a comprehensive portfolio of solar on rooftops, carports, land,
05:44as well as what you see today.
05:46And that's across more than 4,000 sites in Singapore.
05:50So why floating solar farms instead of land-based solar farms?
05:54We have 17 reservoirs in Singapore.
05:57So there is water bodies that we can put solar farms on.
06:01With floating solar farms, we have the opportunity to build it to scale,
06:05as well as benefit from the cool environment,
06:08with the water as well as the wind.
06:10That helps the solar farms to perform better than other farms.
06:15Right.
06:16So do you see more solar farms in Singapore's renewable energy future?
06:20Yes, certainly.
06:21As I mentioned earlier on, we have scarcity of land and rooftop space.
06:26So putting on water is a good alternative.
06:29In addition to this Tenge Solar Farm,
06:32we are already developing two other solar farms,
06:35one in Pandan and one in Kanji.
06:37Ah, I see.
06:41So where does all this energy go from here?
06:44We are in the lift.
06:51It is very small.
06:52And we are going down really, really deep into the ground.
06:55And I'm very excited to see what's going to be there.
07:02This is my breathing apparatus.
07:03In the event of an emergency,
07:05we will use the things inside to ensure that we have enough oxygen.
07:08This is kind of not what I imagined.
07:16I think I imagined a wider space,
07:18but it's still very interesting nonetheless.
07:20I see a lot of wires,
07:22very, very sick cables and wires.
07:24So currently we are 60 metres below ground inside the cable tunnel in SP.
07:33Surrounding us are the extra high voltage cable,
07:35which is a part of the electricity transmission network.
07:39So where is this in terms of the larger,
07:42you know, transmission of electricity from generators to our homes?
07:45So basically this extra high voltage cable carries electricity supply
07:49from the power generation plant to our substation.
07:53I see.
07:54So this is kind of in the middle between the generator,
07:56and then the tunnels, and then the substations,
07:59and then it goes to our homes?
08:00Affirmative.
08:01And why are they underground?
08:02Actually with all these cable tunnels being built,
08:04we can greatly reduce the supply interruptions.
08:07An example like accidental damage by third party contractors
08:11or environmental conditions.
08:13So these tunnels are present across the whole island?
08:16Yes, affirmative.
08:17So they're actually just below us and we don't even know?
08:19Yes, you're right.
08:20Yes, you're right.
08:21How does the team maintain these tunnels and the cables?
08:24So basically our team carry up routine maintenance check
08:26to look out for potential issues inside this tunnel.
08:29Example like the wear and tear, cracks, and water seepages.
08:34Even in recent years, we have introduced SPOC,
08:37which is this raw body dogs, to our inspection teams.
08:40So basically this raw body dogs is equipped with cameras
08:43and thermal imaging capabilities, whereby it can navigate the tunnel on its own.
08:49So basically with all these measures,
08:50it helps to improve the productivity of our team
08:52and also improve the grid reliability.
08:55So with things like AI and electric vehicles
08:59that are all very energy demanding,
09:01is the grid ready for the future?
09:03To manage this, SP uses Digital Twins.
09:06So basically this Digital Twins is a virtual version of Power Grid,
09:09and this virtual Power Grid will help to predict and test the behaviour of our grid
09:15before putting into real operations.
09:17So you're able to try out different configurations on this virtual grid?
09:21Yes, affirmative.
09:22With the increasing in the electricity demands,
09:24we need to understand how the grid will behave.
09:27We've seen how electricity is produced at the generator,
09:33and then we just went to the tunnel,
09:35and now we're here at a substation.
09:37So what exactly is a substation?
09:39So basically a substation is a building that houses transmission
09:42and distribution equipment for the redistribution of electricity
09:45to the household and the commercial buildings.
09:48So where we are now is the first touch-scale underground substation
09:51in Southeast Asia.
09:53So after we just hear what happens to the electricity,
09:56because the voltage cannot be so high, right,
09:58when it's transmitted to a household?
10:00So within the substation itself, there will be a power transformer,
10:02stepping down to lower voltage to 22kV,
10:05and further lower to 400V and 230V,
10:08to be safe use for home appliances and office appliances.
10:11Prior to 1970s, Singapore operates as a lower voltage,
10:15which is around 66kV,
10:17and the increase in electricity demands.
10:20In the mid-1970s, we have increased to 230V.
10:24And as of now, we have further upgrade to 400kV.
10:31It's been really insightful learning about how electricity flows
10:34from the generators to our homes.
10:36I think it's something that I've definitely taken for granted.
10:38You know, you just turn on the switch and you expect it to come on.
10:41This is really cool.
10:49So Ryan, we're in a room with many, many big screens behind us.
10:52Where exactly are we?
10:53Yeah, so currently we're at SP Group's
10:55Electricity Distribution Control Centre, or DCC for short.
10:58So here, our primary role is to monitor and oversee
11:01over 12,000 substations across Singapore,
11:03which make up Singapore's electricity network.
11:05And do you distribute electricity here?
11:08No, that's a common misconception.
11:09We don't actually directly distribute the energy.
11:12What we do is that we facilitate the transfer of electricity.
11:15So you're able to identify when a power outage happens from this room?
11:19Yes, so when a disruption happens, what happens is that
11:21the information comes in through our screens,
11:23and we use that information to determine the location of the outage.
11:26We isolate the fault, and thereafter, we try and restore supply.
11:29If you are unable to do it here, then what happens after?
11:32So if we're unable to restore supply from DCC,
11:35what happens is that we activate our electricity service response team,
11:38our standby officers, as well as our mobile generator teams down to site,
11:42in order to do a site assessment to see how they're able to restore supply from the ground.
11:46So you're kind of like first responders in that sense?
11:48Yes, we are.
11:49What we deal with here at DCC is a larger scale disruption.
11:52So this can potentially be caused by third-party contractors
11:55who might accidentally hit our power cables
11:57when they are doing excavation works to access the supply
12:01or the utilities cables underneath the ground.
12:03I can imagine that it can be really, really life or death in certain cases.
12:07Yes, that's true.
12:08And there are some instances where we have very power-sensitive customers
12:11who need supply on at all times.
12:13So it is our duty to ensure that power supply can get back online as fast as possible.
12:17Is the grid maintained throughout the day?
12:20Yes, our grid is maintained 24-7, rain or shine.
12:22So we have to ensure that our operators are on standby 24-7
12:27to make sure that any disruptions can be caught promptly
12:31and attended to as quickly as possible.
12:33In 2024, on average, a customer in Singapore experienced only 14.2 seconds
12:37of supply interruption in the whole year.
12:39So that puts us as one of the highest rated power grids in the world.
12:43So I've learnt about natural gas and about solar energy.
12:55Are these going to be big parts in Singapore's future?
12:58You know, when I talk about how we started our energy story
13:01when we first had independence,
13:03it was about making sure every home had access to electricity.
13:07Today, we are concerned about ensuring that our electricity supply
13:10is sustainable, secure and affordable.
13:14So how are we going about doing that then?
13:16We call it the four-switches strategy.
13:19So the first switch, we will continue to use natural gas,
13:22but we also want the clean energy.
13:24And that's where solar adoption is important.
13:27So we're going to put as many solar panels on our rooftops as possible.
13:31We are also thinking of how we can connect our grids with our neighbours
13:35so that we can import electricity from clean sources like hydropower and solar energy.
13:42So we do import from others, but is it a two-way thing?
13:45Yeah, so for example, we have a connection with Malaysia.
13:49It provides mutual support for the grids in times of emergencies or crisis.
13:55And the last switch is we're looking to low-carbon alternatives in the future.
14:00So we're looking at geothermal and even studying nuclear.
14:04Oh, wow.
14:05The importance of having the four switches means that we have a diversity of options.
14:11It's like a music mixer.
14:12Depending on how technology evolves, we adjust the sources accordingly.
14:21It's a complex system that powers our lives every day.
14:24Often unseen, a network of people and expertise keeps our homes bright and our city alive.
14:29Ooh.
14:38Ooh.
14:40Ooh.
14:41Ooh.
14:42Ooh.
14:46Ooh.
14:47Ooh.
14:48Ooh.
14:50Ooh.
14:50Ooh.
14:52Ooh.
14:54Ooh.
14:55Ooh.
14:56We'll be a new year.
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