本地明年实现半数组屋装太阳能板 争取10年后满足35万户家庭常年用电需求

陈振声宣布,为朝低碳的可持续未来迈进,我国计划在2030年将太阳能装机容量提高到至少2千兆峰瓦,这一目标相当于当前260兆峰瓦水平的近八倍。

到了明年,全国每两座组屋就有一座会装有太阳能板。我国接下来将大幅扩大太阳能板安装范围,所产生的电量到2030年将能满足约35万户家庭的常年用电需求。

贸工部长陈振声昨天在新加坡国际能源周开幕式上宣布,我国计划在2030年将太阳能装机容量(installed capacity)提高到至少2千兆峰瓦(GigaWatt Peak,简称GWp),朝低碳的可持续未来迈进。

这一目标相当于当前260兆峰瓦水平的近八倍。

本地用来发电的燃料组合中,太阳能仅占总量不到1%,其余高达95%是天然气,以及石油与煤炭等。天然气虽是最清洁的化石燃料,但不是最环保的能源选项,因此把太阳能发电比重到2030年提升至4%,能有效降低我国的碳排放,减轻对气候变化的影响。

陈振声表示,尽管过去10年太阳能板安装数量已从30处增加到超过3000处,我国仍面对土地制约。

组屋、学校、国防等公共建筑以及私人工商建筑的屋顶、未被征用的闲置空地、蓄水池,甚至是岸外水域,都是政府安装太阳能板的范围。当局也探讨在建筑物侧面或是路面装太阳能板的可行性。

南洋理工大学能源研究院执行主任苏博德教授(Subodh Mhaisalkar)受访时表示,对民众而言,使用太阳能的一大好处在于全国的空气质量会得到提升。“如果排放到空气中的温室气体更少,民众也能享受更凉快的天气”。

陈振声认为,要善用太阳能,需要能源储存系统(energy storage solutions)的支持。我国天空多达80%的时间被云层遮盖,使得太阳能面对间歇性电流供应问题。加上每日高峰和非高峰的电力需求差距可达30%,能源储存系统能平衡电力需求,加强能源网韧性。

然而由于气候炎热潮湿,加上造价昂贵,本地能源储存系统采用率很低,据能源市场管理局提供的数据,已安装的存电容易不到1兆瓦(MW),且大部分还在试验阶段。

发展四大“能源开关”

尽管如此,我国仍将坚持增加资源投入研发,力求在2025年之后使用存电量达200兆瓦的能源储存系统。陈振声说,研发一旦成功,除了节省部分基础设施建造成本,“解决方案不仅对新加坡有利,也会惠及新加坡以外的其他国家”。

他展望,如同我国成功谱写属于自己的水源故事,未来50年我国要书写的是能源故事。加大太阳能使用、提高天然气效能、开发跨国电网和投资低碳替代能源是我国接下来的四大电力来源与发展重点。“我们这代人的职责是确保为下一代留下更洁净、更实惠和更可靠的能源故事。”

The Republic is ramping up its drive to soak up more energy from the sun, amid growing global awareness on how fossil fuels are contributing to climate change.

By 2030, Singapore wants to ramp up its solar capacity by more than seven times from current levels, and increase the current 260 megawatt-peak (MWp) of installed solar capacity to 2 gigawatt-peak (GWp).

This is enough to meet the annual power needs of around 350,000 households in Singapore, or about 4 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity demand today.

The new 2GWp target for Singapore was outlined by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday morning (Oct 29) at the opening of the Singapore International Energy Week held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Solar energy is the most viable renewable energy option for Singapore, but harnessing it to power the nation did not come without obstacles.

Singapore’s small size, the intermittency of sunshine due to cloud cover and urban shading, and cost of solar deployment were some challenges.

Currently, solar energy contributes less than 1 per cent to Singapore’s total energy mix.

More than 95 per cent comes from natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel. Other sources, such as oil and coal, round up the mix.

But just as how Singapore pushed the boundaries on water technologies and thrived, so too will the nation tackle the energy frontier, said Mr Chan.

Singapore does not have any natural sources of water but has overcome the erratic nature of weather-dependent sources of water, such as rainfall, with desalination and by recycling used water.

The next frontier for Singapore, said Mr Chan, is energy.

Singapore started moving on this front since the early 2000s, when it switched from oil to natural gas – a cleaner fuel which Singapore now imports in liquefied forms from all over the world and through pipes from neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia – to power the nation.

The next step would be to increase the adoption of solar energy here, Mr Chan said.

In the longer term, Singapore could be plugged into a regional power grid to trade electricity with its neighbours, which would increase its energy security, even as the Republic invests in research and development in other low-carbon technologies that, unlike solar energy, have yet to become commercially viable.

his includes research into the possibility of using “green” hydrogen as a fuel, and in carbon capture utilisation and storage technologies – innovations that could suck planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the air and convert it into useful products, such as chemicals and building materials.

MEETING THE TARGET

The Government is looking into a few ways to meet the 2030 solar target, said Mr Chan.

The first is to maximise the deployment of solar panels onto available surfaces, including rooftops, reservoirs, offshore sea space, and on the vertical surfaces of buildings.

Just as Singapore had turned two-thirds of Singapore’s land surface area into a water catchment area, the Republic will look to do the same for solar, he said.

By 2020, one in two HDB rooftops will have solar panels deployed.

Under the recently awarded SolarNova Tender 4 announced earlier this month, solar panels will also be deployed at 30 schools, as well as 13 Ministry of Defence sites.

Industrial developer JTC will also be deploying mobile solar panels and substations on vacant land, such as existing plots on Jurong Island, not required for development in the near future under its SolarLand initiative.

Mr Chan said Singapore will also invest more in research and development into energy storage systems. These essentially function as batteries when hooked up to solar systems, helping to overcome the challenge of intermittent sunshine.

EXPERTS WEIGH IN

Experts approached by The Straits Times said Singapore’s target of having 2GWp of installed solar capacity by 2030 is an ambitious target – but one that was achievable if certain conditions are met.

Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar, executive director for the Energy Research Institute at the Nanyang Technological University (ERI@N), pointed to Singapore’s limited land area and built-up environment, saying solar panels have to be deployed on a larger scale.

He said: “Other than deploying solar panels on Housing Board rooftops, we will need very large contributions from other sources, including residential and industrial buildings, and also deploy solar panels on infrastructure such as walkways and depots, on building facades and on water bodies such as reservoirs and the sea, to name some possibilities,” Prof Subodh told ST.

Another factor to consider is oil and gas prices, said Dr Thomas Reindl, deputy chief executive of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris) at the National University of Singapore .

“The target seems achievable, as long as oil and gas prices don’t fall well below today’s levels,” he said.

He added: “This is important, as the cost of solar electricity in Singapore competes with conventional electricity. For larger rooftop installations of more than one MWp, the cost of the generated solar electricity is already lower than the typical commercial electricity rates, and in many cases even lower than the wholesale market price.”

While the increase in solar deployment is likely to occur in tandem with an overall increase in energy use, Prof Subodh and Dr Reindl are confident that solar would still be able to contribute about 4 per cent to Singapore’s energy mix by 2030, due to Singapore’s focus on energy efficiency.

Dr Reindl said that while some increase in energy demand would be from population growth, the main impact would come from existing and new industries, and possibly the shift from combustion engines to electric cars in the transport sector.

He added: “In all cases there are already measures or plans underway to proactively manage future electricity demand. Therefore, I am confident that the 4 per cent of total annual electricity demand by 2030 is achievable.”

REDUCING ENERGY USAGE THROUGH DESIGN

Even as Singapore moves to green its fuel mix, the country should also see how its energy usage can be managed, Mr Chan said.

In charting Singapore’s progress toward a future with a sustainable, reliable and affordable supply of energy, Mr Chan said managing energy demand was also important.

“I think we need to see how we can save on our usage of energy,” he said. Key to this is design, he noted, citing the unnecessary cooling of an entire hall to keep its occupants comfortable.

Said Mr Chan: “If you look at a typical audience hall, we just need to cool two meters up from the ground level to provide thermal comfort to the audience. Much of the cooling for the rest of the building is probably unnecessary.”

The importance of design also applies to the broader scale, he said, from the design of individual buildings to clusters of buildings, industries, and residential areas.

For example, technology can be harnessed to determine exactly how much cooling is needed, he said.

And in Singapore, the direction a building faces could have significant impact on its occupants’ energy consumption, not just because of where the sun rises and sets, but also where the wind is coming from, said Mr Chan.

“So how we design the precinct to make full use of the natural ventilation to reduce the cooling needs will be both an opportunity and a challenge,” he added.

Singapore also has the opportunity to refresh the entire island’s infrastructure in the next 50 years, he said, unlike other urban cities which grow as an urban sprawl, randomly and organically.

Efficient design could minimise the energy wasted in transporting people and goods across the island, and get rid of the “tidal effects” of traffic patterns, he said.

This essentially refers to the surge of people travelling in one direction to get to work – usually from north to south and east to west in the mornings – and back home in the other.

Said Mr Chan: “But if we can progressively redesign the entire Singapore, we will get rid of this tidal effect, which will lead to a much more efficient use of our transportation system and network, and certainly the amount of energy that we will need for the entire system.”

But even as Singapore continues to explore new technologies, and build new buildings with zero carbon footprints, the challenge would be to find cost-effective ways of retrofitting existing buildings and precincts and make them energy-efficient, he said.

“That is the area where the Energy Market Authority, together with (industrial developer) JTC, are looking at new capabilities to see how we can help existing… sites convert into much more energy efficient sites.”

Source: Zaobao / The Straits Times

R生活 – Role 角色

人生之所以精彩,是因为每个人在生活中承担着不同的角色,深切地感受着生命成长的律动。

ROLE01

人有先赋角色和自致角色。
每一个角色都有特定的责任,
每一个角色都有不可替代的担当,
有着独一无二的意义和价值。

ROLE02

世间之情,冷暖交集,人生之路怎样难,都要往前走。如果我们改变不了固守的观念,那么我们可以自己改变,改变周围的环境。亦或改变不了事实,但我们可以改变心境,重塑新生。

ROLE03

在生活中,最大程度地发挥自己的良能,得到社会的承认。根据自己的素质、才能、兴趣和环境条件,选择好适合自己的社会角色,找准自己在生活中的位置,在正确的时间,正确的场合,做符合角色的正确事情。

ROLE04
ROLE05

一个人只有自律、自强,对自己高标准严要求,以最高程度、最强的责任心,去诠释好人生中的每个角色,完成每个角色赋予我们的使命,才能无悔人生!

ROLE06

对于家庭,我们要做孝善的儿女、钟爱一生的伴侣、慈心善爱的父母。
对于企业,我们要做创造者、管理者。
对于国家,我们要做建设者和捍卫者。
对于旖旎的大自然来说,我们要做修复者,更要做坚强的保护者!

FairPrice customers no longer have to pay plastic bag surcharge at 7 outlets

Customers will no longer have to pay a plastic bag surcharge at the seven FairPrice supermarkets involved in the chain’s month-long “no plastic bag” trial, which ended on Wednesday (Oct 16).

But FairPrice said it was too early to reveal the results of the trial, which also involved a consumer sentiment survey, saying more updates will be available next month.

A spokesman thanked customers for supporting the initiative to reduce the amount of plastic bags taken, and added that the survey findings and consumer feedback will be studied and analysed “to develop a well-informed and sustainable action plan to reduce plastic bag use”.

However, she added: “Customers will not be charged at the seven stores that were involved in the trial upon its conclusion on Wednesday.”

Amid growing global awareness about the excessive use of single-use plastics including plastic bags, FairPrice launched its month-long “no plastic bag” trial on Sept 16 at several of its outlets.

As part of the trial, customers were charged 10 cents or 20 cents for every transaction in which they took plastic bags at seven FairPrice and Cheers outlets.

These were FairPrice Xtra at Hougang One outlet, FairPrice Finest at Zhongshan Park mall, FairPrice at Maple Tree 18 mall, Cheers outlets at Sengkang Community Hospital and in Create Way and Aljunied Road, and FairPrice Xpress in Lorong Chuan.

Shoppers who wanted plastic bags had to pay 20 cents per transaction at the FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra stores, and 10 cents per transaction at the Cheers and FairPrice Xpress stores.

The money was donated to the Singapore Children’s Society and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

When the trial was first launched, The Straits Times spoke to over 30 customers across several outlets and found that most were supportive of the move to charge for plastic bags.

Shoppers of all ages were seen whipping out foldable reusable bags or taking along trolleys with them on their grocery runs.

However, the reaction on social media was different, with many commentators saying that they would simply throw rubbish down the chute if they were not given plastic bags for free.

Ms Pamela Low of the Singapore Youth for Climate Action environmental group said she commended FairPrice’s willingness to start the trial to charge people for plastic bags “in its efforts to be a responsible retailer contributing to Singapore’s push towards zero-waste”.

Under new zero-waste targets revealed by the Government in August, Singapore wants to send 30 per cent less waste to its only landfill on Semakau Island by 2030.

On comments that plastic bags are needed to bag rubbish, Ms Low agreed, saying: “I use plastic bags for wet trash too and we should still continue to bag our trash to avoid pest issues, given our high-rise infrastructure.”

However, she said that if FairPrice’s trial to reduce plastic bag uptake was successful, the supermarket chain could consider complementing the charge with a rebate scheme, in which customers who do not take bags get discounts on their purchases.

Said Ms Low: “I’m optimistic the trial will prove effective in helping Singaporeans save money and plastic bags.”

Source: The Straits Times

R生活 – Rapid 迅速

我们身处一个迅速发展的时代
生活节奏不断被加速,不断被刷新
犹如进入了一条光速般的隧道!

信息科技的发展彻底改变了人们的生活方式。通讯联络随着5G的诞生更加快捷便利。人工智能逐渐取代人力劳作,渗透到生活各个领域。微信、facebook、Instergram等社交媒体的出现,形成了全新的价值体系。所有人的生活完全被快文化所包围及深深地影响着。

RAPID01

快节奏使人们忽略了对生活的觉知和感动,快到无暇顾及身边的人与事,只是一味地消耗生命力,消费自我,没有从容地认知自己的内心,思考过自己的价值所在。所以,我们必须要学会张弛有度,收放自如,时刻保持理智警醒、强化敏感性,去除自我遮蔽,一定要主动地掌握人生的快慢节奏。

信息爆炸的时代,激烈的竞争,快速的发展,纷繁复杂的社会现象,强烈追求物质生活的欲望,给人们增加了无形的压力,使人心浮气躁,神不守舍。归根结底是缺少静气。宁静致远,涵养精气的过程就是在追求平衡,营造和谐,积蓄底蕴,成就境界。

RAPID03

真正的迅速是具备更强的时间观念,更高的做事效率,不断磨练提升自己的生存适应能力。在关键的时候,能抓住转瞬即逝的机遇,对于各种问题,都要防患于未然,对变化莫测的时局,迅速做出最合理、最有效的反应和决断。

所以,我们提倡在快节奏中过慢的生活。
快出人生的潇洒和精彩,慢出生活的质量和品位。

RAPID05

社会的快速发展也带来了更严重的环境问题。我们的生活有多便捷,环境的破坏就有多快速。为了降低成本,加快消费速度,大量的产品使用塑料包装。为了购物便利,人们毫无节制地使用塑料袋。电子产品迅速的更新换代,不断刺激人的非理性购物欲望,从而制造了大量的电子垃圾。

RAPID06

当今,危害人类的环境污染正以惊人的速度在迅速蔓延,我们必须要以更快的速度,制定科学的方法、采取有效的措施加以应对和处理,落实在实际的行动中,全力保护我们的生存环境!

年华

人生有一首诗

当我们拥有它的时候
往往并没有读懂它
而当我们能读懂它时
它却早已远去
这首诗的名字叫青春

青春是那么美好,在这段不可复制的旅途当中,我们拥有独一无二的记忆。不管它是迷茫的、孤独的、不安的,还是欢腾的,炽热的,理想的,它都是最闪亮的日子。

唯有奋斗才能抒写无悔青春!
在人生道路上,青春的时光稍纵即逝。当你蓦然回首时,会发现曾经拥有的青春依然会在记忆中闪烁着动人的光彩。

在应该努力拼搏的日子里
选择安逸的生活
那么,青春又有何用?

青春无悔该是我们每个人的追求,我们只有把握好青春的每一天,在激流中勇进,不断拼搏,我们才可以骄傲地说,我的青春是无悔的!

青春是年华,是心境。
青春又是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,更是深沉的意志,恢宏的想象,真挚的感情。

无论人入迟暮,抑或春光无限,心中皆有生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱惑,孩童般的天真变成永恒的话题。人的内心,只有承载美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量,才能风华永存,青春永驻!

R生活 – Readiness 准备就绪

凡事必未雨绸缪
居安思危
提前做好充足的准备
结果才能事半功倍

军事谋略讲究兵马未动,粮草先行,知己知彼,百战百胜。舞台上精彩绝伦、技惊四座的表演,激烈的竞技中,脱颖而出,荣登奖台,这些成功的背后,必然是日复一日的准备,经历最枯燥乏味的简单重复和最艰苦的训练。

READY01

只有付出全部体力、精神力、意志力和心力,做最好的自己,才能牢牢抓住命运给予的有限机会,并有能力将其转化为成功的条件。

READY02

执行力保证就是充分的准备。凡是受企业欢迎的员工,一定是能够出色完成任务,并善作准备的人。

READY03COV

可见,做好准备多么重要,人生不打无准备之战!
为了身体健康,提升生命质量,从年轻时,我们就要做好准备,打好基础。每天合理搭配饮食,时时清洁居住环境。根据自己的情况,进行有规律的运动。

READY04

为了生活幸福,我们要做好准备。
全情投入地热爱工作、事业和家庭,把生活打理的井然有序。除此之外,要有自己的爱好,琴棋书画诗茶花,这些能让你在凡尘俗世的喧嚣中独处,做回自己。用心生活,沉淀精彩。

READY05

小到个人,大到社会,都应该脚踏实地的稳步前行。今天,科技的飞速发展,改变了人类社会的方方面面。我们真的要准备好去直面互联网、5G通讯、大数据和人工智能等数字技术为我们打造的全新世界。

READY06

这个世界,精神文明的高度远远没有跟上物质文明的发展。发达的科技刺激了更多的欲望,人们把一切看成是理所应当。环境污染、海洋污染越发严重、气候变迁不断加剧,我们必须要做好应对准备,采取措施,改变现状,保护环境 。

READY07

这个社会需要每一个人的力量,为社会中需要关怀和帮助的人,伸出援手,献出爱心。做一个快乐幸福的人,传播正能量,给身边的人带来积极的影响,我们的世界才能变得更加美好!

准备,是为了更健康的身体
准备,是为了更幸福的生活
准备,是为了更和谐的社会
准备,是为了更永续的未来