With a significant incentive to cut carbon emissions, the energy business has switched towards solar, wind, and other low-carbon alternatives. Not only has this resulted in considerable cost reductions for such renewable energy suppliers over the previous decade, but it has also resulted in the establishment of a robust global supply chain centred on the renewable economy.
Power generated by Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) resources such as solar and wind energy is intermittent and unpredictable due to weather conditions. As a result, energy storage is a critical enabler for the reliable, secure, and widespread adoption of renewable energy. The latter helps to assure the dependability and economic viability of future low-carbon networks by balancing intermittent energy supply and variations in energy demand.
SIT is collaborating with EDPR Sunseap in the disciplines of renewable energy integration and energy storage to examine the capabilities of various types of distributed energy resources (DERs), like as solar panels and energy storage devices, within a microgrid testbed on Pulau Ubin.
The performance of these various DERs, including VRE-based generating and energy storage, is being assessed using a combination of hardware and software technologies. These tools assess operational and economic efficiency on a real-world microgrid servicing residential and business loads.
The project is divided into two sub-projects. One option is to increase solar power efficiency by installing solar panels on top of a green roof. The third goal is to create and show the performance of an advanced redox flow battery in a microgrid with high round trip efficiency (less energy required to charge the battery).
SIT is working on a project with other partners to create a management system for managing fire threats in energy storage systems (ESS) in hot and humid locations.
The goal of this study is to learn how Singapore’s climate impacts ESS in terms of stability and efficiency. The solution seeks to regulate the temperature of the ESS to maintain efficiency without compromising safety by combining artificial intelligence-driven battery degradation analytics and innovative cooling technologies (air and water cooling).
SIT collaborated with its partners on a modelling study to replicate the microgrid at SIT’s planned Punggol site. The research examined the possibility of employing a combination of renewable and fossil fuel-powered electricity, as well as ESS, to meet the energy demands of the future campus using a digital twin microgrid.
SIT is also active in cooling system testing and prototyping in order to push the frontiers of existing cooling technologies. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has identified the Passive Displacement Cooling (PDC) system as one of the cooling technologies that can help to create a super low energy building, defined as one that can achieve at least 60% energy savings over 2005 building codes.
This research resulted in two developments that may lead to greater market acceptance of this cooling method. The first is a design guideline for general PDDCC system sizing, which could assist mechanical and electrical consultants in swiftly selecting PDDCC size for their projects. The second is project data that was utilised to create a code of practice (TR 102) for PDC systems in air-conditioning applications as a technical reference.
