SINGAPORE — Tests are under way on Pulau Ubin to see if its renewable energy supply — currently being provided to a group of residents on the island — can be relied on and eventually incorporated into the national power grid.

Launched yesterday, a micro-grid is now being tested as an alternative source of electricity for the island’s community, which has had to rely on its own noisy and pollutive diesel generators for power all this while.

The project, started two years ago by the Energy Market Authority and its appointed consortium, comprising Daily Life Renewable Energy and OKH Holdings, costs S$10 million and will run over 10 years.

Around 30 residents and business operators have signed up to get plugged into the micro-grid, which is powered by biodiesel and solar cells located on three sites around Pulau Ubin. Micro-grids are smaller versions of centralised electricity systems.

The electricity generated is transmitted from the sites to buildings via underground cables. Currently, the consortium is providing electricity at S$0.80 per kilowatt hour (kWh). In comparison, S$1.20 per kWh is needed to operate residents’ diesel generators.

Pointing out that the micro-grid’s generation capacity can be ramped up “easily”, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office S Iswaran said consumers can also draw more electricity to meet their needs if necessary. “This means that (businesses) can serve their customers better and expand their operations,” he said at the project’s launch.

Mr Iswaran, who is also Second Minister for Trade and Industry, added that the micro-grid is a learning point for managing renewable energy sources, while ensuring a stable source of electricity.

Though he acknowledged that renewable energy sources can “only potentially supply 5 to 10 per cent” of overall energy demand, he said it was “important to study these options so that we are ready, on a technical point of view, to incorporate them as and when they become commercially and economically feasible”.

Some residents TODAY spoke to are adopting a wait-and-see approach before they switch fully to the power supply from the micro-grid. Renewable energy, though greener, can be unreliable and intermittent as it is dependent on weather conditions.

Mr Tan Chee Kiang, 65, who operates a restaurant and provision shop, said he will power half his appliances using electricity from the micro-grid, but still count on his generators as a back-up. He currently spends about S$1,000 to S$2,000 a month on diesel for the generators and hopes his bill will soon be less than that.

Another resident, Ms Doreen Lim, is excited at the possibility of having an air-conditioner installed in the temple at which she volunteers daily.

“Having a power supply is more convenient because it saves the hassle of buying diesel and having to maintain our generators, which can be unpredictable as they break down easily.”