EMA awards $14.9m to shore up grid resilience

It sill fund four projects targeting grid stability as distributed energy resources expand.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has awarded $14.9m to four industry projects to strengthen Singapore’s electricity grid resilience on 27 October.

The projects will improve grid maintenance and operations, manage the impact of growing distributed energy resources, provide fast-response support for system stability, and enable distributed resources to contribute more actively to grid operations.

The Advanced Energy and Decarbonisation Office will oversee the projects under the Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, which covers a broader portfolio of research and development and innovation initiatives.

Four projects target grid resilience

SP PowerAssets has received $8.7m for two projects under the SP Technology Laboratory, established by EMA and SP Group to develop solutions to future-proof the grid.

The projects will use artificial intelligence and data to optimise maintenance and renewal decisions for grid infrastructure.

They will also test solutions to manage voltage and power quality as more distributed resources, such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicle (EV) chargers, connect to the grid.

Yokogawa Engineering Asia has received $4.2m to explore and develop fast-response services to support grid stability.

Funded under the Energy Grid 3.0 Grant, the project will examine how resources such as batteries, solar inverters, industrial loads, and EVs can be coordinated to provide fast-response support.

Inertia slows changes in system frequency following a sudden disturbance, giving the power system time to respond.

Green Union Pte Ltd has received $2m to develop strategies for better coordinating distributed energy resources, including solar PV, battery energy storage systems, and EVs.

Funded under the EMA and Korean Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) Joint Grant, the project aims to strengthen grid resilience and maximise the use of existing infrastructure.

EMA and KETEP have collaborated on joint research and development in smart grids and energy technologies since 2019.

They signed a memorandum of understanding in 2024 to expand cooperation in energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart grids, energy storage, carbon capture and storage, and information exchange, alongside other areas of mutual interest in energy technology and policy.

“These projects will help us develop and test practical solutions to improve how we maintain and operate the grid, strengthen system stability, and harness distributed energy resources,” said EMA chief executive Puah Kok Keong.