Advancing solar energy goals
An NUS-led consortium has been awarded a $6.2 million research grant by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) to develop solar forecasting capabilities. The announcement was made by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Ms Sim Ann on 23 October at the Singapore International Energy Week 2017.
Currently, forecasting solar power output in Singapore, especially over long time horizons, is challenging due to the complexities of local weather systems in a highly urbanised environment. This may lead to imbalances between electricity demand and supply, particularly when solar energy becomes more prevalent. To mitigate the effects of solar intermittency and ensure a reliable and stable power supply, it is necessary to know the solar photovoltaic (PV) power output ahead of time.
The consortium will look at improving the accuracy of solar PV output forecasts and grid management using techniques in weather prediction, remote sensing, machine learning and grid modelling and making use of solar irradiance data from sensors installed on rooftops of buildings as well as weather data from those installed by Meteorological Service Singapore.
The four-year project will be led by Principal Investigator Associate Professor Ashwin Khambadkone from NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering, and done in collaboration with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore at NUS; the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing at NUS; the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Experimental Power Grid Centre; and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology’s Centre for Environmental Sensing and Modelling.
It was also announced at the event that a project by home grown integrated energy solutions provider Red Dot Power, in collaboration with NUS, has been awarded a research grant by EMA and SP Group to implement Singapore’s first utility-scale Energy Storage System (ESS).
The three-year project will test-bed Vanadium Redox Flow solutions for applications such as frequency regulation and peak shaving, supporting the deployment of intermittent generation sources like solar. The test-bed will also help to establish clear technical guidelines for ESS operations while facilitating greater deployment of solar and moving the nation one step closer to achieving its environmental goals and reducing its carbon footprint.
