BUILDING OF COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT

BUILDING OF COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT:

(Impact on environment): 20.

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in view of the announcement by Tuas Power (recently acquired by China Huaneng Group) to consider building a coal-fired power plant in Singapore

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(a) what is his assessment of the impact of this plan on our environment; and (b) what regulatory measures are currently in place to protect the environment and to ensure that new clean coal technology is efficiently deployed to the advantage of Singapore.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, any proposal for a coal-fired power plant will be assessed based on economic, energy security and environmental considerations. MEWR will therefore work with the relevant economic agencies to evaluate any such proposal.

From the environmental point of view, we want our power plants to be more energy efficient and clean. Hence, we have imposed performance standards on our power plants to minimise their environmental impact.

Coal is a cheaper option than fuel oil or gas, and it will contribute towards a more diversified fuel mix for Singapore. However, coal is also a dirtier fuel. Conventional coal plants emit more ash than natural gas and fuel oil plants. Coal is more carbon-intensive as well. But we note that there are new and better technologies that improve the efficiency of coal-fired plants. We will monitor these developments carefully.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, what is the Minister's view on a coal-fired power plant in Singapore? And how much does the Ministry know and learn the so-called clean coal technology? And has his Ministry made early assessment in terms of the so-called clean coal technology, how clean could it be and what is the impact?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, the technology on clean coal is evolving. The Ministry is keeping a careful eye on these developments. We have visited some

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plants in Japan. They are running what is called ultra supercritical coal-fired plants. We want to understand the technology better. As to whether or not we have a position on the matter, as I mentioned in my reply, we will evaluate all proposals with the other economic agencies to make sure that they meet our standards. At the same time, we want to keep our options open and continue to monitor these developments closely. We keep track on developments across the world. There are even technologies being experimented in America in which we monitor closely so that we understand what are the benefits, what are the upside and what are the downside. ****

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Can I clarify what is the current standard that we have and the current regulation with regard to power plant?

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, I do not have all the exact details. The standards that we have imposed are based on US EPA standards and WHO standards. We monitor these standards very closely in terms of the ash, the sulphur dioxide and other pollutants. These are the requirements that we have now in place and if they have to build a plant they have to meet these standards, and all our power plants in Singapore meet our standards at this point of time.