JTC appoints consortium to build smart grid in Punggol Digital District

Work on Singapore's first district-level smart grid has made headway, with industrial developer JTC Corporation appointing a consortium to design, build and operate it in the Punggol Digital District (PDD).

- Ariel Yu

The consortium comprises local electricity generator and retailer PacificLight Power and Univers, a global decarbonisation software company based here.

This smart grid can help Singapore tackle climate change by enhancing energy efficiency, incorporating renewable energy sources and improving overall grid resilience when it is completed in 2026.

A smart grid is an advanced electricity supply network that uses digital technology to detect and adjust to changes in energy use. It can integrate electricity drawn from renewable sources such as rooftop solar panels.

It will include a battery energy storage system (Bess) with solar panels to optimise energy efficiency across the district through real-time data management and generating renewable energy.

The Bess and the solar panels will be installed by PacificLight Power, which will also operate and maintain this equipment for the next 20 years.

A Bess captures and stores electrical energy during periods of low demand or high generation, such as sunny or windy days, and discharges electricity when needed, like at night or during peak demand.

Mr Nelson Liew, group director of new estates at JTC, said that more than 1,000 solar panels will be installed and are estimated to produce 3,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy per year, equivalent to powering 680 four-room Housing Board flats for a year.