Guest-Of-Honour, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr S Iswaran, addressed an audience yesterday (Tues 27. Oct. 2015) at an event during Singapore International Energy week (SIEW) focusing on how Singapore is paving the way to become the leading Cleantech hub of Asia.
Many countries and cities are already planning their economic growth which includes clean energy as a key solution to reduce pollution and mitigate climate change. In many countries renewable energy has become attractive due to its growing cost competitiveness and its contributions to enhancing energy security.
Asia is now at the centre of global clean energy growth, driven by the region’s robust energy demand, which is expected to more than double by 2035. Many Asian countries have huge aspirations and plans of making solar their main source of energy – China, India have big plans as well as Indonesia and The Philippines.
Singapore aims to be the leading Cleantech Hub in Asia and play its part in addressing climate change
Singapore has become an enticing location for international Clean Technology companies to develop and provide solutions to markets in the region mainly because of Singapore’s significant investments in research and development, strong engineering and project development capabilities, as well as good market connectivity.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) has recently secured a number of new investments in solar, fuel cells, smart grids in Singapore. These projects will together create over 100 professional jobs and S$150 million in business spending over the next five years.
Some examples of companies investing in Singapore include a leading German solar engineering, procurement and construction company which is establishing its global Headquarters in a joint venture with a local Singaporean marine company. A leading fuel cells company from the UK opening its global supply chain office in Singapore as well as many MNCs venturing on Smart grid projects and solutions.
To address the needs of a more sophisticated energy industry, Singapore is looking for innovation through public-private partnerships. An example of this is the S$30 million Singapore Power Energy Advanced Research and Development or SPEAR programme through which Singapore Power (SP) and EDB will co-innovate with companies to increase the resiliency of the Singapore national grid. Since its launch earlier this year, the SPEAR programme has attracted 42 proposals from leading industry players in the areas of grid communications, data analytics and smart energy management.
These investments prove confidence in Singapore’s role as an effective Cleantech hub, with an emphasis on innovation, project development, and financing activities.
