During the recently held “Regional Training Programme on Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings,” the Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore and the International Energy Agency (IEA) introduced cutting-edge approaches and applications for effective smart grid-interactive buildings and energy systems.

“We are excited to continue working with the IEA on training programs for decision-makers and business experts to help the region’s transition to renewable energy. According to Jonathan Goh, Director, External Relations Department, EMA, “this year, we have gathered a large number of experts and professionals to share their knowledge on smart digital technologies for energy-efficient buildings that would help reduce energy consumption in the region.

 

According to the IEA, 25% of ASEAN’s total energy consumption comes from the built environment. Over 40% of this usage is covered by energy generated from fossil fuels. By utilizing digital technology to become smarter and more interactive, the built environment, which includes buildings as well as the utility and transportation networks that connect them, has a significant amount of potential to cut energy usage.

 

Thanks to technology like smart meters, sensors, and artificial intelligence, energy systems can automatically lower and reroute peak electricity demand. This enhances the grid’s ability to promptly adjust to changes in supply and demand. Energy efficiency enhances people’s life, health, productivity, and well-being in addition to saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. In addition, it increases incomes for discretionary spending, improves energy security, and creates jobs.

 

On the other hand, the training program featured more than 40 specialists from various organizations who provided support for the program through presentations, breakout sessions, online networking, and conversations. The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore were among the ASEAN-based organizations that provided these specialists.

 

More than 180 people from 33 countries attended the recent Singapore International Energy Agency Regional Training Programme on Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings. To debate how smart digital technology might be utilized to make buildings more energy-efficient, policymakers, business experts, and representatives from academia, non-governmental organizations, and civil society convened. Energy-intensive buildings may transform into low-carbon prosumers capable of producing, using, storing, selling, and buying energy through interaction with the power grid.

 

The Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings program is a sixth activity of the Singapore-IEA Regional Training Hub initiative. The Singapore-IEA Regional Training Hub was created when Singapore became an Association Country of the IEA in 2016. Since 2017, the Singapore-IEA Training Hub has trained more than 1,000 people from more than 30 countries. In order to facilitate knowledge sharing and operational capacities in clean energy transitions, the initiative represents a critical turning point in the formation of a network of urban practitioners, researchers, and energy specialists.

 

Singapore and the IEA will co-host the Singapore-IEA Ministerial Roundtable on Energy Security in a Low-Carbon World in October of this year to talk about the connections between energy security and energy transitions. This occasion is a part of the 15th Singapore International Energy Week. While this was going on, EMA put in place a number of steps to increase Singapore’s energy security and resilience. Singapore has therefore maintained enough overall gas supplies throughout the present global energy crisis. These actions include:

1. The construction of a Standby LNG Facility (SLF) that gencos can use to produce electricity in the event that natural gas supplies are interrupted;
2. Encourage gencos to keep adequate fuel inventories based on their ability to generate power. In addition to the current mandate for gencos to keep fuel reserves;
3. Market laws should be changed to allow EMA to order gencos to produce electricity using SLF gas before any anticipated Singapore Wholesale Electricity Market (SWEM) energy supply shortfalls in order to ensure the security and dependability of the power system.