4. Energy and Environment

This section covers the following topics: energy infrastructure, air quality, water, waste and soil

Indice

• 4.1. Energy
• 4.2. Air
• 4.3. Water
• 4.4. Waste
• 4.5. Soil

4.1. Energy

Around 40% of Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy sector, if the city-state is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, much of its efforts must go into greening this sector ¹.

As of June 2023, almost all of Singapore's power is generated from natural gas , which accounts for 94.3% of the fuel mix; just over 40% of the total gas supply is LNG, transported on ships from other countries, the major suppliers being Australia, Qatar, the Netherlands and the United States, with the remaining 60% coming from Indonesia and Malaysia via pipeline.

Singapore's liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility consists of a 260,000 m³ storage tank, three 18,000 m³ storage tanks and two jetties that can accommodate vessels of up to 265,000 m³.

About 4.4% of Singapore's energy comes from other sources, such as solar power and municipal waste. Singapore has more than 1 gigawatt -peak ( GWp ) of solar power at its disposal, has four waste-to-energy plants, which incinerate all of the city-state's waste, 0.9% of its energy mix comes from coal (Singapore's only coal-fired plant, the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex on Jurong Island , supplies steam and electricity to the industrial island's chemical companies), and 0.3% of Singapore's electricity comes from petroleum products.

According to the statistics published by the Energy Market Authority (updated to the first half of 2023) ², the manufacturing sector absorbs 37.6% of total electricity consumption, domestic users absorb 14.4%, transport 5.4%, Utilities 2.6%, Construction 0.8% and the remaining 39.2% is absorbed by Services and Commerce, of which the largest items are Information Technology and Communication services with 9.7% and real estate management services with 8.4%.

Singapore has decided to address the energy trilemma (security, equity and environmental sustainability) with a 2035 strategy that includes reducing dependence on natural gas, which will still constitute about 50% of the energy mix, paving the way for the import of electricity produced from renewable sources (30%) and the production of other renewable energy sources (20%).

For the 30% import, amounting to a projected 4GW, Singapore issued a request for proposals for large-scale supplies, which led to the allocation of 1GW to Cambodia, 2GW to Indonesia and 1.2GW to Vietnam, which led, in June 2023, to the implementation of the interstate LTMS-PIP (Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project) project for the integration of power lines between Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, with the first 100MW of hydropower from Laos ³.

For the 20% renewables, Singapore aims to reach 2GWp from solar as early as 2030, out of an estimated potential of 8GWp calculated on the use of current technologies, while the evaluation of other sources looks very carefully at, among others, geothermal, hydrogen and ammonia (which is produced by combining hydrogen with nitrogen and from which the hydrogen can be extracted again).

Geothermal is a source that has not yet been exploited, even if the presence of thermal springs on the largest island of Singapore has led to the belief that it has interesting potential, so much so that the Energy Market Authority has begun the process in 2022 to assign a geophysical study of the entire territory of Singapore ⁴.

As regards hydrogen, Singapore is aiming to create a supply chain that is not strictly limited to green hydrogen and is also considering the import of green hydrogen via pipelines, for which a project between City Energy (Singapore) and Gentari (Petronas Group, Malaysia) is currently being studied for its feasibility ⁵.

The Energy Market Authority and the Maritime & Port Authority have shortlisted six consortia to participate in a Request for Proposals for a low- or zero-emission ammonia generation ⁶project on Jurong Island that is expected to generate between 55 and 65 MW from gas turbines and secure the supply of 100,000 tonnes of ammonia as marine fuel ⁷.

To finance the energy transition, the Singapore government has announced the establishment of the Future Energy Fund ⁸which is expected to be operational by the end of 2024, with a budget of 5 billion Singapore dollars (US$3.7 billion) ⁹.

4.2. Air

Singapore's main sources of air pollution are emissions from industry and motor vehicles. From August to October, due to the southwest monsoon, Singapore is hit by a blanket of smoke that comes from the island of Sumatra, due to forest fires and the practice of bonfires ¹⁰.

To manage air pollution and air quality, the Government employs an integrated urban and industrial planning strategy, along with control and monitoring measures, carried out by the National Environment Agency (NEA) through a network of 22 fixed air quality monitoring stations located in 5 regions of Singapore.

Data on SO2 ₍ sulphur dioxide), PM10 ₍ particulate matter at 10 microns), PM2.5 ₍ particulate matter at 2.5 microns), NO2 ₍ nitrogen dioxide), CO (carbon monoxide) and O3 ₍ ozone) are collected 24 hours a day and processed and published in real time in the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI). In 2023, air quality was categorized as “Good” and “Moderate” for 99.5% of the year , with only 2 days in October where air quality entered the “unhealthy” range, with the 24-hour PSI above 100 ¹¹.

Since 2020, the air quality objectives are:

• SO ₂ : 24-hour mean 50µg/m3 (WHO target)

• PM _2.5 : annual mean 12µg/m3 ( Sustainable Singapore Blueprint target), 24-hour mean 37.5µg/m3 (WHO target)

• PM ₁₀ : annual mean 20µg/m3, 24-hour mean 50µg/m3 (WHO target)

• O ₃ : average 8 hours 100µg/m3 (WHO target)

• NO ₂ : annual mean 40µg/m3, 1-hour mean 200µg/m3 (WHO target)

• CO: 8-hour mean 10µg/m3, 1-hour mean 30µg/m3 (WHO target)

Furthermore, VOC concentrations are monitored, in particular Benzene, Toluene and Xylene (BTX) which are typically industrial emissions.

In 2018, the NEA compiled a catalogue of SO2 emissions, finding that 91% comes from refineries, 2.6% from power plants, 6.3% from other industries and 0.1% from vehicular traffic.

To control emissions from industries, the NEA applies the Source Emission Test Scheme , which companies must conduct on their own or by appointing laboratories accredited under the Singapore Laboratory. Accreditation Scheme (SAC-SINGLAS). This allows industries to regularly monitor their air emissions and ensure that they meet prescribed air emissions standards.

4.3. Water

Singapore is a country with limited water resources, so the quality of its water is carefully regulated. The city is divided into ten catchment areas and six sewerage basins. The water sector is the responsibility of the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (MSE), PUB (Singapore's National Water Agency) serves as the water utility for the entire city-state, ¹²and the National Environment Agency (NEA) regulates pollution and water quality in inland water bodies and coastal areas ¹³.

Singapore has only 103 m³ of renewable freshwater resources per capita per year. This is well below the threshold generally considered to be the threshold for a country to experience extreme water scarcity, and the situation will worsen as the population grows. Industry and the economy are also growing, putting additional pressure on water resources. According to the Singapore government, demand for water is expected to nearly double by 2065.

There are 17 water bodies in total, with Marina Bay , separated from the sea by the Marina Barriage , being Singapore's most iconic water body ¹⁴, while approximately 5% of the land is covered by water-related ecosystems, with specific zoning and four protected nature reserves, three of which are water-related: the Central Catchment Area, a Wetland and a Coastal Site. Natural groundwater is very limited.

Industry accounts for approximately 51% of water withdrawals, 45% of withdrawals are for municipal use through the public distribution network, whose share of total water consumption is set to decrease, while the remaining 4% is withdrawn by agriculture. In 2019, per capita consumption was 141 liters per day, which Singapore aims to reduce to 130 liters by 2030.

According to Water Resources Institute , the risk of water-related disasters is medium. Compared to other countries, the risk of drought is medium, while the risk of riverine and coastal flooding is medium to low. However, in the past decade, Singapore has experienced more than a dozen major floods, such as the flash floods in 2010 and 2011. These events have led to the implementation of several disaster risk reduction measures, such as increasing the capacity of the drainage network, building flood gates at rivers and reservoirs, as well as retention ponds, green roofs and rain gardens in urban areas, to slow down surface runoff in the drainage system.

Wastewater sources are divided into three categories, rainwater, industrial and municipal. Singapore has implemented a separate rainwater collection network from the public sewerage system, which serves all industrial areas and almost all residential areas.

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) regulates the sewerage system, as well as the treatment and discharge of industrial wastewater into public sewers; all wastewater must be discharged into the public sewer system.

Industrial wastewater must be treated to specific standards before being discharged into the sewer system; in addition, industries that generate large amounts of acidic effluents are required to install a pH monitoring and flow-blocking system to prevent acidic effluents from being discharged into public sewers.

Industries can apply to the PUB for permission to directly discharge commercial effluents containing biodegradable pollutants into public sewers, upon payment of a fee. The fee is determined based on how much the level of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) exceed the permitted standards.

The discharge of waste water into watercourses is regulated by the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999 (EPMA) and the “ Environmental Protection and Management (Trade Effluent ) Regulations ” (EPM). NEA’s Pollution Control Division 1 (PCD1) administers the EPMA and EPM regulations.

Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) was completed , a 207-kilometre underground “highway” to convey wastewater to three large centralised treatment and recovery plants, located in Changi , Kranji and Tuas. ¹⁵.

The project, estimated to be worth 10 billion Singapore dollars (US$7.4 billion), is now entering its final stages of construction, with tunnel excavation for Phase 2 having been completed in August 2023 and the entire system expected to be fully operational in 2026.

The sewage treatment plants operate three levels of treatment (primary, secondary and tertiary), the sewage sludge is dried and incinerated (the ash is sent to the Pulau landfill Semakau ), while the purified water is further treated to be fed into reserves or conveyed to factories for industrial use, while the excess water is discharged into the sea.

Given the high level of water stress, Singapore has had to adopt an integrated strategy for fresh water supply, which is based on four sources: one is the use of natural and artificial reserves, one is the treated wastewater, called NEWater , one is the desalination and the fourth is the importation from the Johor River basin , in Malaysia, under a bilateral agreement (1962 Water Agreement) which will expire in 2061.

4.4. Waste

In 2023, approximately 6.86 million tons of solid waste were generated, of which 27.5% was generated by the household sector and the remaining 72.5% by the non-household sector. Construction and demolition waste is 99% recycled, while the average recycling rate was 52%, down from 57% in 2022, while the 2030 target would be 70% ¹⁶.

Solid waste is separated at source and collected by selected concessionary companies with a contract, currently there are three. The recyclable fraction is sent to storage, treatment and recovery plants (over 400 operators are registered ¹⁷), the non-recyclable and non -incinerable fraction (estimated at around 3% of the total) is sent to landfill, while everything that is not recycled and is incinerable is sent to waste-to-energy plants, in four plants that satisfy around 3% of Singapore's electricity demand ¹⁸; the ash from waste-to-energy is sent to landfill.

Semakau is Singapore's only active landfill site and is an artificial island 8km south of the main island of Singapore, enclosed by a sevenkm perimeter wall, covered with a layer of impermeable membranes and supported by a bed of clay, in order to prevent the leakage of leachate ¹⁹. Waste brought to Semakau is collected from all treatment plants and loaded onto the Tuas Marine Transfer Station.

The TUAS Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) is the integrated plant that will have to be built in phases starting from 2025, capable of incinerating 5800 tons of waste per day (about 31% of the waste generated in 2023), biodigesting 400 tons of food waste per day and treating 800 tons of sewage sludge per day. The waste treatment plant will be built next to the waste water treatment plant, creating the integrated hub called “ Tuas Nexus ”.

4.5. Soil

Singapore law requires that in order to obtain approval from the Building Construction Authority (BCA) for a new development project on a site or for its transfer to a new developer, an investigation must be conducted to verify the state of contamination ²⁰.

Before obtaining the BCA permit, the developer must obtain approval from a number of bodies, including the Central Building Plan Unit of the Ministry of Environment, in compliance with the technical requirements requested by them, as set out in the Environmental Pollution Control Act and the Code of Practice on Pollution Control ²¹.

Although there is no clear definition of a “contaminated site”, it is section 7 of the Code of Practice on Pollution Control, in its 2002 revision, which defines the guidelines for the investigation of sites, the state of contamination and the need for any remediation actions, drawing directly on the Dutch guidelines ²².