Week 9 - Renewable energy

Week 9 – Renewable energy

“When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability”

- Gurinder Shahi -

So what is so important about sustainability? Chances are our generation will not live to experience the impacts of global warming, global scarcity or environmental degradation anyway. Indeed, the challenge of sustainable living is not just for us but for the future generations to come, to pass them our home in good, living condition and for our countries and civilization to sustain in centuries to come.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek Proverb

Perhaps this is one area Singapore is lacking. Singapore prides itself for its far-sighted scenario planning, strategically aligned itself with the global market. Singapore government managed to transform Singapore into an investment hub for MNCs to generate prosperous economy over the past 45 years. It has also developed NeWater, solving the water crisis Singapore had and became a global leader in this industry. However, Singapore appears to be lagging behind in terms of renewable sources of energy and food security. Right now, Singapore has secured some reliable sources of fuel and food but how long would that last? How do we to ensure these good relationships are will be for eternity?

During the session, we went through a video explaining the success of renewable energy for Germany. A country hardly known for its sunshine has been investing so much into such new sources. How can we, as a tropical country with more sunshine than rain not double our efforts? The amount of light energy that falls in our small country is tremendous despite our land size. If only we could harvest all these energy, not only we can have energy intensive industry, we might be able to export it too.

Singapore being a small island is extremely reliant on foreign imports for necessities, thus extremely vulnerable to necessities shortages. The recent water crisis showed us how important it is for us to develop our own unique sources of necessities, especially in an environment that is becoming increasingly resources scare. We did well in developing our own water source but it appears that we are not doing as well in other aspects

Singapore imports 95% of food and 100% of our fuel requirements. This makes us extremely vulnerable to international boycotts and foreign disruptions. Yet, since independence, there has not been a drastic push for self-sustainability despite rapid growth and a huge government surplus. Understandably, developing and implementing new technologies require huge start-up capital, thus the barrier to entry. However, this barrier should not be deterrence for Singapore to develop this industry. Singapore has huge trade surplus, high growth and one of the largest cash reserve given the size. While it is important as the government preaches to hold huge reserve, it is just as important to ensure the sustainability of the country. It is pointless to hoard cash without strategic investments, not just to grow the capital but also to fuel the growth of Singapore in long run. 

Few years back, Singapore pumped in billions into the bio-technology industry, hoping to attract foreign talents and develop cutting-edge technology. If Singapore was able to pump in such high capital for research, why not develop the infrastructure for renewable energy as well? We are a concrete jungle, high sunlight intensity and a constant summer. The height of our buildings coupled with consistent sunlight should ensure good returns on our investment in infrastructure, reducing inflation in long run. Furthermore, efficient solar technology already exists, further reducing the risk of being unable to recoup the capital. Better still, when solar technology is developed in the country, it encourages local research firms to further enhance such technology because the market is already there. Not only it could stimulate growth, secure a position for Singapore in a resource scare further, it can also shape Singapore into a respectable leader despite its size.

There are huge benefits for investing in renewable energy, in particular solar for Singapore but Singapore still lags behind. Perhaps it is due to the lack of awareness and interest by our politic leaders which we do not expect to be the case. Or perhaps right now, it is still more cost-efficient to rely on oil and natural gas supplies rather than renewable energy. Perhaps Singapore already has plans to lay the infrastructure but still waiting for the right moment. Perhaps.