Encouraging Private Sector Companies to Aim for BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy Buildings Certification

3 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development what plans does the Ministry have to encourage companies in the private sector to achieve the BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy Buildings certification.

The Minister of State for National Development (Mr Zaqy Mohamad) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, BCA launched the Super Low Energy Programme in 2018 to encourage developers and building owners to achieve best-in-class building energy performance in a cost effective manner. The response from the industry has been positive. As of December 2019, 18 buildings have achieved the BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy certification.

To drive the adoption of Super Low Energy buildings, BCA worked with the industry and academia to develop a Technology Roadmap, which comprises 60 strategies and technologies that building owners can adopt to increase energy efficiency. We have also enhanced the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster programme with a $20 million top-up last year.

The programme aims to accelerate the adoption of Super Low Energy buildings through funding the research, development and prototyping of energy efficient building solutions. Through this programme, building owners and developers can work with research partners to develop innovative green technologies for building applications and conduct large-scale demonstrations to assess their feasibility in the local context. In addition, BCA has established the Super Low Energy Building Smart Hub to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on energy efficient technologies amongst industry stakeholders. This is an open database of green building technologies supported by building energy data and analytic tools. The Smart Hub also has an online advisory function to recommend customised retrofitting plans for building owners and developers to green their existing buildings.

We will continue to work with industry stakeholders to encourage companies to achieve the BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy certification.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, just one quick clarification. The Technology Roadmap that the Minister of State was talking about, I think we started work on that since 2018. Can I just check whether the study is completed and whether the report is available to the public?

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I thank the Member for his question. In fact, the Technology Roadmap is in place. Today, some of the technologies identified in the Roadmap are the LED lighting with smart controls, decoupled cooling from dehumidification and thermally reflective cool paint. Many of these solutions are novel applications of existing technologies. But, yes, we have also seen some of these technologies being used in some of our buildings today. For example the SMU-X building which uses an enhanced passive displacement cooling system. The system uses the natural convection of heat to move the cool air without the use of mechanical fans, so, therefore, reducing energy consumption. The other example is the NUS School of Design and Environment Building 4 which uses a hybrid cooling system that augments the cool air supply with ceiling fans, making it 46% more efficient than a conventional cooling system. This helps the building achieved substantial energy savings while maintaining a comfortable environment for students.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: I just want to know whether the Roadmap is available for public viewing, so people can see and give feedback, and possibly improve it as well.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: The fact that the technologies are already in use, I think it is already public. So, if the Member needs further information on the Roadmap, I am happy to provide.