Reader's Response Draft 2 (ENGIE - District heating and cooling systems)
In the webpage, “District heating and cooling systems'', ENGIE (2013) has discussed the benefits and advantages of adopting a cooling network system. A cooling network is a centralized system that supplies chilled water to an air conditioning system. ENGIE has been established as the world’s largest independent provider of urban cooling networks by Tabreed, a leader in the Gulf state urban climate control systems market. The webpage has mentioned that ENGIE has customized its services based on the countries’ needs. ENGIE’s approach of its cooling network in comparison to a conventional air conditioning system has achieved greater energy efficiency, lesser water, and electricity consumption, and has emitted less carbon dioxide. The advantages of implementing a cooling network can be seen from ENGIE’s operation in Paris which is one of the largest cooling network in the world. Its energy efficiency has improved by 50% and its carbon dioxide emission has been reduced by 50%.
Since the webpage has demonstrated
that the implementation of a district cooling network system has a sustainable
impact on the environment, Singapore would require full commitment to implement
more district cooling networks projects as it will be a contributing factor to
mitigate the current Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and greenhouse gas
emissions which are contributing determinants to Singapore’s climate change
problems.
Singapore
has the world’s largest underground district cooling network which has been
operating at Marina Bay since 2006. It is operated by Singapore Power (SP)
Group. The system serves more than 20 developments. The notable customers are
developments such as the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, and the
Marina Bay Financial Centre (SP Group, 2021). They are expected to save more
than 40% energy savings (Othman, L. 2016). Consequently, immense energy has
been saved, and carbon dioxide emission has been reduced which is a great way
to tackle Singapore’s climate change problems.
In
addition, ENGIE has been awarded by Jurong Town Corporation and Singapore
Institute of Technology to design 30,000 refrigeration tons of District Cooling
System infrastructure in Punggol Digital District (PDC) in Singapore (ENGIE,
2019). PDC is the first district in Singapore to take on an integrated
masterplan approach that brings a business park, a university, and community
facilities. This project will enhance energy efficiency and sustainability.
Furthermore,
a future HDB town called Tengah, will be Singapore’s first sustainable town
that incorporates the centralised cooling system (CCS). This system will
achieve a lower carbon footprint compared to other HDB estates in Singapore.
This is equivalent to removing 12.6 million kg of carbon dioxide from the air.
Residents in Tengah will enjoy 30% energy savings. Nearly 1,000 households have
signed up for the cooling system in the upcoming of Tengah, where some 8,000
Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have been launched so far (Ng, M. 2020). This BTO
project will be an enabler for future housing development projects.
Thus
far, the implementation of a district cooling network in Singapore is only
carried out in new developments. Singapore has yet to implement a district
cooling network in completed developments. However, this may change because of
a feasibility study done by Temasek and SP Group to transform Tampines into an
eco-town by 2025. The study involves 14 buildings in Tampines to utilise a
distributed district cooling (DDC) network which is an interconnected
centralised cooling system. The DDC in Tampines could potentially achieve a 17%
reduction in energy consumption, 18% fall in carbon emissions from both energy
savings and refrigerant reduction (Temasek, 2021). The owners of seven of those
buildings, including CapitaLand and Frasers Property, signed letters of intent
with SP to pledge their interest in subscribing to the distributed district
cooling network.
Successful
implementation of the DDC network in Tampines would be a pathway for many
developments that are already built upon to adopt the district cooling network.
Therefore, in an effort to contribute to sustainability in Singapore, the
government will start implementing more district cooling network on older
developments. The implementation of the district cooling networks will
contribute to mitigate Singapore’s current UHI effect issue and greenhouse gas
emissions.
References:
ENGIE.
(2013, February 11). District heating and cooling systems.
https://www.engie.com/en/businesses/district-heating-cooling-systems
ENGIE.
(2019, March 07). ENGIE wins project for the design of District Cooling
System in Punggol Digital District in Singapore.
https://www.engie.com/en/news/project-cooling-system-punggol-digital-district-singapore
Housing
& Development Board. (2021, September n.d.). Tengah.
https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/about-us/history/hdb-towns-your-home/tengah
Ng, M.
(2020, October 19). Nearly 1,000 households in Tengah sign up for
centralised cooling system.
https://www.spgroup.com.sg/sustainable-energy-solutions/our-low-carbon-solutions/cooling-and-heating
Othman, L. (2016, March 03). World’s biggest underground
district cooling network now at Marina Bay.
SP
Group. (2021, August n.d.). Cooling & Heating.
https://www.spgroup.com.sg/sustainable-energy-solutions/our-low-carbon-solutions/cooling-and-heating
Temasek.
(2021, August 19). Bringing Distributed District Cooling to Our Town
Centres – A Cool Solution for a Greener Singapore.
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