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RFI issued for geothermal investigation in Singapore

RFI issued for geothermal investigation in Singapore Singapore (source: Keith.Fulton / flickr, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga 21 Apr 2022

The RFI is in preparation of a planned country-wide geophysical investigation to assess the geothermal resources in Singapore.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore has issued a request for information (RFI) to facilitate an assessment of the geothermal energy potential of the country. The RFI is for possible approaches, methodologies, and execution details for carrying out a geophysical investigation to ascertain Singapore’s geothermal potential and identify suitable deployment locations.

Parties interested in the RFI can send their submissions to EMA-EPDD-ETDD-ET@ema.gov.sg by 20 May 2022, 23:59 Singapore time. More details on the RFI and its requirements can be accessed via the official RFI document.

After the RFI, a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be launched for the assessment of viability of deploying geothermal systems in Singapore. The EMA notes that participation in the RFI is recommended for subsequent participation in the RFP for the planned project.

New possibilities

Since the 1960s, preliminary studies conducted by the Academia and the Government have highlighted the geothermal potential of Singapore. However, developing conventional hydrothermal systems was deemed not feasible because of the lack of quality resources at shallower depths.

New developments in geothermal resource development such as enhanced or advanced geothermal systems (EGS / AGS) can give way to new possibilities for Singapore. It may now be possible to harness hat from deep hot dry rock in a manner that is safe and has low environmental impact. Before technologies for these can be assessed, it is important for Singapore to determine if there is substantial geothermal potential to justify the endeavor.

Phased approach

EMA is taking a phased approach to geothermal development in Singapore. After an initial investigation phase, there will be a pilot phase to demonstrate the technical feasibility of EGS/AGS in Singapore. Only after this will commercial-scale geothermal deployment commence.

The RFI is in preparation of a plan to do a detailed geophysical investigation of the whole of Singapore. EMA is also exploring the possibility of extending the project to cover use cases beyond geothermal that have potential synergies such as carbon dioxide storage and underground power plant infrastructure.

As we reported previously, there is already an ongoing effort by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to assess the geothermal potential in northern and eastern Singapore. Part of this was an exploration of the potential of tapping the source of the hot springs in Sembabwang for geothermal energy utilization.

Source: Energy Market Authority