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.

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/plant-underground-district-cooling-network-marina-bay-commissioned

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.

https://www.temasek.com.sg/en/news-and-views/news-room/news/2021/distributed-district-cooling-for-a-greener-singapore

 

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