SUMMARY + READER'S RESPONSE DRAFT 4 (AMENDED AFTER PROF'S FEEDBACK)

In the webpage "District heating and cooling systems," ENGIE (2013) illustrates how impactful and effective its sustainable heating and cooling systems have been to the world. In addition, ENGIE demonstrates the backbone of its operations involving numerous technologies applied worldwide relative to the versatile heating and cooling methodology it adopts. ENGIE states that it utilizes renewable and recyclable energy to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of heating and cooling. Consequently, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and energy bills have decreased in the context of ENGIE's projects. To validate its claims, ENGIE further exemplified its contributions by highlighting its projects for different countries and how their systems have accelerated the fight against environmental degradation.

 

Singapore has been committed to implementing district cooling systems(DCS) developed by ENGIE to mitigate the use of air-conditioners. ENGIE has attained success by innovating environmentally friendly district systems. However, due to development complications and prolonged preliminary planning, it will be a while before Singapore can fully experience the benefits of District Cooling Systems entirely. Furthermore, the success of district cooling systems is not yet prevalent in the country as there are challenges to implementing more district cooling systems throughout Singapore.

 

As warm and humid weather prevails all year long in Singapore, cooling and dehumidification have become necessary in residential and non-residential areas. To circumvent the prevailing weather, most buildings in Singapore adopt small, individual chillers that refresh cooling air, which is inefficient. Consequently, Singapore has implemented district cooling systems commissioned by Singapore District Cooling (SDC) in commercial buildings to mitigate the application of individual chillers. As a case in point, Marina Bay's underground district cooling network is the most extensive cooling system globally (Othman, 2016). The Marina Bay district cooling system caters to more than 20 developments in the precinct, enabling them to conserve more than 40% in energy expenditure (SPgroup, n.d). Instead of contractors building and installing plant rooms and cooling towers in every building in the Marina Bay area, using a district cooling facility helps make about 30 percent more energy-efficient businesses in the area (AsiaOne, 2013). Thus, the successful development of district cooling systems has provided Singapore with sustainable options in reducing the temperature, enabling Singapore to accelerate its progress in improving the climate.

 

Although the district cooling system has proven beneficial in Singapore, expanding the district cooling systems to more districts throughout the country is still not widespread. Typically, the integration of district cooling systems and the design of greenfield developments will transpire at the start of planning. Thus, Singapore faces a limitation in implementing the district cooling systems as a large part of the land in Singapore is developed, and most building owners have installed their individual plants for chilling needs (Ecosperity,2021). Suppose building owners are not open to the idea of revolutionizing their source of cooling in their respective buildings. In that case, it will be hard for Singapore to progress with a district cooling system.Furthermore, planning for implementing district cooling systems requires a significant amount of time. Group CEO of Singapore power, Kim Yin (2016), states that the transformation of Marina Bay has resulted from many years of planning. The Biopolis project was Singapore's first district cooling implementation. Kim Yim (2016) mentioned that the Singapore government played a vital role in de-risking the Biopolis project by making it compulsory for developments in a particular area to take up the district cooling system supply to mitigate the demand risk. Conventionally, the development of the district cooling system is bounded by the need to implement the system at the start of construction. In addition, implementing the district cooling system requires time to visualize and convince key personnel of buildings within the area to commit to utilizing the system. 

Despite the impediment mentioned earlier, the limitations relative to the development of district cooling systems are not a halting problem. A promising solution, known as the Distributed District Cooling (DDC) network, was innovated by SPGroup to interlink a centralized cooling system to existing towns and districts (SPGroup, 2021). According to SPGroup, the DDC network will interconnect 14 buildings through insulated pipes that dispense and circulate chilled water in a closed loop. The notion behind a DDC network is the idea of an integrated operation. The combination of individual buildings will enable the DDC network to select the most acceptable composition of chillers amongst the available chiller plants to meet the fluctuating cooling requirements. Thus, the chiller systems perform at maximum efficiency (SPgroup,2021). The implementation of the DDC network will inaugurate in Tampines by 2025 as part of the Tampines Eco Town initiative. In the long run, implementing the distributed cistrict cooling Network is the most feasible solution to further expand the district cooling system into the non-commercial areas of the country and if the implementation DDC network in Tampines produces positive results, Singapore will benefit from the foundation of this victory. As a result, the success of the district cooling systems will be more prevalent in the country.

 

As opportunities to scale district cooling systems into residential areas appear promising, it is essential to ensure substantial core operations. The Singapore Government must be persistent in implementing the district cooling systems against all adversities to produce the best results so that Singapore can enjoy the extensive benefits district cooling systems can offer.  


References

ENGIE. (2013, February 11). District heating and cooling systems. 

https://www.engie.com/en/businesses/district-heating-cooling-systems

 

Lim, V. (2021, August 19) Greener system of cooling buildings may be set up in Tampines, paving the way for more eco-friendly towns. Channel News Asia.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sustainability/tampines-cooling-buildings-eco-friendly-towns-2122426

 

Ministry of National Development. (2016, March 3). Speech by Minister Lawrence Wong at the Commissioning of the Marina Bay Cooling Network.

https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/speeches/view/speech-by-minister-lawrence-wong-at-the-commissioning-of-the-marina-bay-district-cooling-network

McKenna, J (2020, July 28). Below the surface of Singapore lies the future of keeping cool. Spectra.

https://spectra.mhi.com/below-the-surface-of-singapore-lies-the-future-of-keeping-cool

SPGroup. (2021, August n.d).  Taking the heat off cooling: A greener way to cool. [Whitepaper].

https://www.spgroup.com.sg/sustainable-energy-solutions/our-low-carbon-solutions/cooling-and-heating

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