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There is a case for Singapore to diversify its electricity sources, reduce its carbon footprint, and raise its climate ambition, Tan Wu Meng, Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong GRC told Parliament on Monday (Feb 28), the first day of the debate on the 2022 Budget statement.

Tan, a former Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry, called for Singapore to raise its climate ambition "by moving ahead of the market" and investing in the diversification of Singapore's electricity sources.

Tan noted that energy security is existential for Singapore.

Currently, about 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated using natural gas, he observed.

Tan said that this is a "serious concentration of risk", adding that electric vehicles will further concentrate this risk.

Diversify Singapore's electricity sources

Tan made two suggestions to diversify Singapore's energy sources.

First, Tan proposed that Singapore should move ahead of the market and be a hydrogen hub, especially in the area of low-carbon hydrogen.

He noted that there is already interest in hydrogen production and trade around Singapore.

This means that starting up hydrogen-based electricity generation, and fuel-cell capability, will help Singapore build the experience to scale when it needs to, he said.

Second, Tan suggested that the government should keep a very close watch on developments in nuclear energy - both fission and fusion.

For nuclear fission, Singapore should continue assessing the safety of small modular reactors and whether a future generation of small modular reactor could be safely deployed.

For nuclear fusion, Tan noted that while it is still early days, there are promising developments in the United Kingdom.

He observed that a team at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility near Oxford in December 2021 managed to generate enough energy to power 35,000 homes in five seconds.

Top photo from MCI Singapore Youtube.

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