Singapore has set up its first battery energy storage system to manage peak consumption at the world’s largest container transhipment hub.
The project at the Pasir Panjang Terminal is part of an S$8 million partnership between the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and PSA Corporation, the agencies said in a media release on Wednesday (Jul 13).
It is also part of the smart grid management system which can improve the energy efficiency of port operations by 2.5 per cent and reduce the port’s carbon footprint by 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per annum, akin to removing around 300 cars off the road annually, they added.
Slated to start in the third quarter, the system would provide energy to be used to run port activities and equipment including cranes and prime movers in a more efficient way.
The project had been awarded to Envision Digital, a Singapore-based company providing artificial intelligence and Internet technologies software, which developed a smart grid management system that includes the battery energy storage system and solar photovoltaic panels.
The platform uses machine learning to provide real-time automated forecasting of the terminal’s energy demand, the agencies said.
“This enables long-term planning of port assets, short-term scheduling and real-time energy management within the terminal to reduce overall energy costs and carbon footprint,” they added.
Whenever a surge in energy consumption is forecast, the 2 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage unit will be activated to supply energy to help meet demand, said the agencies.
“With this enhancement to Pasir Panjang Terminal, spikes in energy demand of the port will be minimised,” they said.
At other times, the unit can be used to provide ancillary services to Singapore’s power grid and generate revenue.
The agencies said the insights from the project may also “validate” the possibility of commercial and industrial users adopting the battery energy storage system to serve multiple purposes, such as demand management onsite and providing commercial ancillary services to support power systems.
Director of the industry development department at EMA, Ms Jeanette Lim said: “Electricity demand will grow in the next decade with increasing electrification. The adoption of innovative demand-side technologies such as smart energy management systems and energy storage systems will help us optimise our energy supply and power grid capabilities.”
PSA’s head of new technologies and sustainability, Mr Alvin Foo, said the company is “excited” to work with EMA “to achieve cleaner and more efficient energy for our operations”.
Mr Tan Joo Hong, head of global ports solution at Envision Digital, added: “Our joint work with PSA will result in a reference model for ports embarking on sustainable development journey.”
Insights from the project will also be applied to the energy system at the Tuas Port, which will be the world’s largest fully-automated terminal, to be completed in the 2040s, said the media release.
Batteries that are no longer in use for port equipment can also be repurposed into second-life energy storage systems, it added.
Source: Reuters