EMA, Singapore Power to test-bed energy storage system

SINGAPORE - The Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Singapore Power have issued a request for proposal to test-bed a large-scale energy storage system here, to support the integration of solar energy and other irregular power sources into the national grid.

The test-bed will have a capacity of 6 megawatts, enough to power 500 four-room Housing Board flats for a day. Under the proposal, energy storage technologies that can store electricity on a large scale within an electrical power grid will be deployed at three substation locations in Singapore, the EMA said in a statement on Thursday (May 12).

Examples of such storage technologies include lithium-ion batteries, redox flow batteries and flywheels.

Singapore's test-bed will be unique as tenderers will have to take into account operating conditions under our hot and humid climate, which impacts the performance of energy storage systems, the EMA said.

Space constraints must also be factored in given Singapore's highly built-up environment.

Energy storage is a crucial part of the renewable energy push, as it allows for electricity demand and supply to be better managed. If energy can be stored efficiently, that paves the way for intermittent generation sources like solar energy to become more widely used.

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