### Singapore's Urban Transformation: Balancing Growth and Sustainability

Singapore's innovative urban planning and renewable energy initiatives exemplify a model for balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability.

### Singapore's Journey: Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability
* 🌏 Singapore has transformed from a colonial trading port into **Asia's richest country**, boasting a per capita GDP that **exceeds both the UK and the US**.
* 🏙 The city-state is a global financial center with world-class infrastructure, yet it faces challenges such as an **aging population and climate change**, necessitating a **shift towards sustainability**.
* ☀ To achieve net zero by 2050, Singapore is focusing on **renewable energy**, particularly **solar power**, leveraging its **abundant sunshine** despite limited land availability.
* 🌊 Tengeh floating solar farm, with over **120,000 solar panels**, exemplifies innovative energy solutions, reducing carbon emissions by **32,000 tons annually** and powering around **16,000 flats**.
* 💧 Singapore's National Water Agency is also exploring **carbon capture and hydrogen production** through collaboration with startups, aiming to **harness ocean resources for clean energy**.
* 🏡 The Housing and Development Board is pioneering Tengah New Town, integrating **smart technologies and biophilic design** to **enhance sustainability and reduce carbon footprints** in public housing.
* 🌳 By planting a million trees by 2030 and utilizing innovative design practices, Singapore aims to **combat urban heat and improve residents' quality of life**, showcasing a model for **future urban development**.
* 📈 Despite initial challenges in new developments, Singapore's meticulous urban planning offers valuable lessons for smaller nations striving for **sustainability amid resource constraints**.

Singapore is often held up as a success story. In just a matter of decades, the city-state has transformed itself from a colonial trading port to a buzzing global city. It's Asia's richest country with a per capita GDP that surpasses the UK and the

US. It has world-class infrastructure, efficient transportation, and affordable housing. But in recent years, Singapore has faced challenges on multiple fronts. Can it strike a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability and still build a model for the city of tomorrow? I'm Husain Ammen and this is

Momentum. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Say Singapore and you'd be forgiven for thinking Crazy Rich Asians when it comes to economic achievement. Singapore stands tall. This tiny country in Southeast Asia is smaller in size than New York City, but it is a

global financial center. It is also one of the world's biggest oil trading hubs and runs one of the world's highest-rated airports as well as one of the world's busiest ports. Its success is a product of decades of planning and implementation by a party that's been in power since

independence. But in recent years, the party has had its worst ever showing. To continue to prosper, Singapore needs to evolve. Its economic growth has slowed and its population is aging fast. It also faces an existential threat: climate change. As a low-lying tropical nation,

it's particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and heat waves. To solve some of these problems and future-proof itself, Singapore is turning to science and technology. Currently, Singapore is heavily reliant on imported natural gas. To meet its goal of achieving net zero by 2050 and mitigate the impacts of

climate change, it needs to shift to renewable [Music] energy. So Singapore is trying to boost renewable production at home. However, options are limited. There are no major rivers for hydro and there isn't sufficient wind to power large commercial wind turbines. But there is sunshine throughout the

year, making harnessing solar power the most viable option. Singapore's REM tab is solar capacity by more than a thousand times in the last 15 years. I'm here in Tengeh, one of the world's largest inland floating solar farms. Tengeh has over

120,000 solar panels across an area equivalent to 45 soccer fields. It's run by Singapore's National Water Agency PUB and state-owned company Sembcorp. A 45-hectare floating solar farm. How is this part of future-proofing Singapore against a backdrop of high

demand for energy, also a climate crisis? So if you talk about high demand, so maybe let's just bring back to PUB the work that we do. If you look at Singapore's water demand, we project it to increase almost double by 2065. We will need to use more of our, our water

resilient sources, which is basically desalinated water and new water, which is our recycled water. And these sources are more energy intensive. Our carbon footprint is expected to more than double in 2065 because of these sources. With that context, we need to look into

harnessing renewable energy for Singapore. Solar energy is perfect for Singapore, but we are land-scarce, so we need to find more innovative ways for Singapore's energy. So reservoirs, actually, the main function is, of course, to collect the rainwater uh before we treat the water to produce drinking

water. But if you look at the expanse of the reservoir space itself, it also provides us with the opportunity to have a more large-scale deployment of solar panels on the reservoir surface compared to installing solar panels on rooftops. Putting solar panels on water

keeps them cool and increases the efficiency. Covering a reservoir with solar panels also reduces evaporation, which helps the reservoir store rainwater for longer. The electricity generated by the solar farm is used to power PUB infrastructure. It reduces 32k tons of

carbon emissions annually, equivalent to taking 7,000 cars off the roads. According to Sembcorp, so for T, it's 60 megawatt peak and 60 megawatt peak. Basically, can power about 16,000 flats. We know there are 17 reservoirs in

Singapore. It only makes sense for you to have more floating solar farms. I would say the success of this solar thinger farm of course does give us the confidence to try it out in other reservoirs, and we are doing that, but it does require more studies because each

reservoir is quite unique in their layout. So we do have plans over the next 5 years to implement large-scale floating solar farms at two more of our reservoirs. So the plan is to have a combined capacity of more than 150 megawatt peak. So imagine if we do for

the two reservoirs, will be over 150. I think we will convert that. That's about another 40,000 flats that and power. If we want to replicate this floating solar farm elsewhere in the world, in another country, what are some of the takeaways that you can share with

the others from our experience it's really about how do you optimize the land space and I think this multifunctional use is one area that cities or countries in a similar position as people we can explore besides optimizing land use. This Sol Farm was designed to maximize

efficiency from the very beginning. I think one of the things about solar farms is firstly the design has to be right at the start so that you have a very minimal maintenance requirement over the next 25 years. I guess uh solar farms are actually

not as complicated as a power plant, but in order to make sure that you have an effective and productive solar farm we have to depend a lot on data analytics and predictive analytics to help ensure efficiency and ensure the best performance of the plant. Speaking of perfection, I mean the

solar panels are actually angled at 5°. Yes, one would imagine that the best way to maximize um energy collection is when it's flat. Singapore is you know near the equator so the best efficiency from global solar irradiance is really at 0°.

But we know that 0° will increase soiling when it rains. You have dust and all that, it will affect the performance and the efficiency of the system. So before constructing this solar farm, we actually have quite a number of existing solar farms on the rooftops right, and we

have some at 3°, some at 5°. So we looked at the data and we realized actually 5° has the best performance. 5° allows for the sunlight and the air to flow through, and we have angled it towards the north which means the

direction of the wind so it actually improves the diversity, the biodiversity, the water quality as well. Jen, how are you able to counter concerns that these solar panels impede the quality of, uh, the water and also the wildlife here? We actually have a very

comprehensive Environmental Management and monitoring plan that we adhere to. So one such example is, uh, setting eight camera traps to track the wildlife here. We also have three water quality monitoring stations where we collect data and submit it on a weekly basis to monitor the performance of the water

quality. We coexist extremely well with the wildlife. One fun fact is we had nine otters here back in 2021. Today they have grown to 14 otters and they're pretty happy. They come out at 5:00 to play. So it's data driven, yes it's

science driven. Do you continue to monitor and what do you do with the data? How does the data you colate, you get, is translated to improvements down the road? Yeah, so I think there's a lot of data collected at this solar farm, so we start

with the system. System, we collect temperature data. We collect, you know, inverter data, we collect generation data and so on. So that's translated to analytics where we monitor losses through soiling, um, losses through temperature and then we do improvements. We don't just go cleaning

for the sake of cleaning. We do have a lot of birds around and birds sometimes soil the solar panels, so when, when that happens our digital analytics actually captures, so we send the team out to, to do some cleaning. Singapore's solar capacity has

grown significantly over the years but because of limited space, solar is unlikely to form a large share of Singapore's energy mix. The city-state will still need to import renewable energy from other countries, but natively generated renewables could account for over 6% of

Singapore's energy mix by 2050, and hydrogen could be a major renewable source. Case in point is Singapore's PUB's collaboration with American startup Equatic on a $2 million demonstration plant for carbon capture and hydrogen production. The ocean is already the

planet's most powerful carbon removal tool. Aquatics technology aims to do what the ocean does in a faster and better way, while also producing hydrogen, a clean fuel that could one day power the grid, transportation, and heavy industry. Here's how it works: First, seawater is pumped into

Aquatics' plant, then electrolyzes (breaks) the seawater into hydrogen, oxygen, and a base stream and an acid stream. The base stream is exposed to air, which helps create the reaction that forms solid carbonates and dissolves bicarbonates. These carbonates and bicarbonates capture carbon dioxide

from the atmosphere. The acidified stream is neutralized with rock. The two streams are mixed and returned to the sea. The discharged seawater is treated so it preserves the same chemical composition as the ocean to avoid damaging the marine ecosystem. The technology could

potentially be integrated into PUB's water desalination operations. The National Water Agency said the team had run a pilot project in Singapore for over a year, removing up to 100 kg of carbon dioxide per day. The demonstration plant will capture about 3,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide and

produce over 100 tons of hydrogen annually according to the company, but ocean CO2 removal technologies like Aquatics are nascent and costly. The long-term impacts of these projects on the marine environment are not well understood. Housing is another piece of

the puzzle towards remaking Singapore as a city of the future. 80% of Singapore's population live in government-built flats. The Housing and Development Board, which plans and builds such housing, has come up with its greenest project ever: Tengah New Town. Tengah is part of Singapore's effort

to reduce its carbon footprint and to promote sustainability in energy, water, and waste. It will be the first HDB town that is planned with smart technologies townwide from the beginning. It will have a car-light town center, smart lighting, automated trash collection, and a solar-powered

centralized cooling system, an eco-friendly alternative to conventional air conditioning. Instead of using refrigerants to remove heat, it uses chilled water piped into homes from centralized chillers. It's based on a commercial system in Singapore's Marina Bay Financial District where

refrigeration plants and pipes were laid underground before the offices were built. The systems operator, SP Group, says the network can save up to 30 gigawatt hours per year, equivalent to taking 4,500 cars off the road. The HDB has been using 3D

environmental modeling software to create the blueprint for Tengah, simulating the effects of changes in wind, temperature, and sunlight on buildings and their surroundings. The aim was to find the best way to mitigate the urban heat island [Music] effect. When we talk about public housing

for most part of the world it is a problem for Singapore it is a solution and Singapore has gone one step up because it's gone high-tech using technology to solve public housing issues so one of the very cutting-edge technologies that we have deployed and

implemented in our daily um design worlds is the integrated environmental modular which is called imem so this imem is a technology that we can simulate the environmental parameters before the actual construction starts before the 3D modeling software was used to design Singapore's first

smart and sustainable district Punggol [Music] Northshore we translate the design in the virtual world to the actual developments we have studied different physics including wind flow so you can see this district having a staggered kind of building layout which introduces the wind flow and natural ventilation into the

precincts what you're seeing here now is the Northshore district at the 6:00 p.m. time so you can see that there are very huge portions of the areas in this district are being covered by the shadow so which means that our residents can have

enjoyable time using those amenities the beauty of it is that we conduct one simulation there are different parameters that we can study at once for example what you can see here we got wind speed we got shading we got ambient temperature we got humidity and even thermal comfort levels so our AI

and our planners can really study their designs from different kinds of angles and achieve and optimize building layout before the construction starts how cost-effective is such an approach to public housing last time we might study them in silos for example windflow we might need

One software solution we need to use the other one, but IM is really the cutting-edge technology for bringing them all together in one platform. Using IM, we can reduce the cost of environmental modeling studies in Singapore. We are an island, we have limited land space.

So, we have to make use of smart technology to strategically deploy or implement our mitigation measures in tackling the heat-related issues. Apart from using smart technology to optimize building design, the HDB is also doubling down on greenery. Vegetation can reduce air temperature as well as provide

shade. For decades, it has been a key tool in the city's fight to keep temperatures down. Already known as the Garden City, Singapore still plans to plant a million more trees by 2030. For Tengah, the goal was to create an evergreen forest town by using biophilic

design, a concept that was tested in Tengah. We're in Tengah, the first sustainable town in Singapore. It's not just sustainable, it is smart, it is biophilic, and by that we mean a lot of greenery here. Yeah, that's right. That's

right. Um, Tengah town is our living laboratory where we tested a lot of smart, sustainable, and biophilic features within the whole district and town. [Music] Now, biophilic comes from the word biophilia, which refers to man's

affinity with nature, and it's also our natural liking for living things. When you talk about biophilic design, it is the features that allow humans to reconnect with nature to enjoy the natural benefits that it offers. When we try to conceptualize this biophilic town framework, it is an effort

to provide a holistic science-based approach to how we can provide greenery in a way that helps to provide a greater sense of place, helps to provide better well-being for people, and provide enhanced quality of life for our residents. We considered five different aspects: soil, water, flora, fauna, and outdoor

comfort and people, and outdoor comfort. Comfort is an aspect that we put a lot of effort into to ensure that our spaces are uh comfortable to enjoy across different times of the day. [Music] So what do you see here? How has that been applied in Punggol here? I mean, how

the trees are planted for instance? Well, because a lot of analysis has been done before we actually design and plan the trees. The way they are planted, for example, they are in alignment with the way the wind flows during the prevailing monsoon months. So when people are

walking along the footpaths, they actually enjoy a lot more breeze than they would otherwise. So, particularly where places where people are enjoying the spaces, indulging in outdoor activities, we concentrate more efforts to ensure those spaces are well-shaded from the sun. It's either through greenery or either through the

neighboring block uh that casts a shade to that area. This is important. Singapore has always been seen as a concrete jungle. The temperatures are very high, and given the design that we have here and the greenery that we have in Punggol, the temperature is actually lower. Yeah.

That's true. In terms of the amount of greenery and the way we plant the plants in the different places, it helps to lower the temperatures quite significantly. So there's a difference between uh some of the towns that have been designed with such efforts and versus uh

other places that's not been done so so I imagine that a lot of the residents here spend a lot of time outdoors, more so compared to the other more mature, older estates. Yeah, we definitely see a lot more people enjoying the spaces across all the

different times of the day and it's very heartening to see families coming together enjoying spaces like uh our ponds and our butterfly gardens, learning about nature, appreciating what nature has to offer and ultimately having a greater quality of life. So far over 5,700 apartments in

Tonga have been delivered to buyers. When fully developed, the new town will provide 30,000 public housing units and 12,000 private housing units, but according to local media reports, Tera has had some initial problems. Some buyers have said the cooling system didn't work properly

while others complained about limited transport and blocked paths. In response, HDB said it takes time to build infrastructure for new towns while cooling system operator ESP Group said it has repaired most of the affected cooling units. In land scarce resource-poor Singapore, every detail of its urban

landscape is meticulously planned. Singapore's urban planning has created a city of the future, one where environmental sustainability and urban convenience intersect. Singapore's efforts to future-proof itself may not be replicable to many bigger countries, but for smaller places facing similar problems, there are

lessons to [Music] learn. Check out our next Momentum episode [Music] [Music]

How Singapore Is Trying to Build a Climate-Proof City | Momentum

Bloomberg Originals offers bold takes for curious minds on today’s biggest topics. Hosted by experts covering stories you haven’t seen and viewpoints you haven’t heard, you’ll discover cinematic, data-led shows that investigate the intersection of business and culture. Exploring every angle of climate change, technology, finance, sports and beyond, Bloomberg Originals is business as you’ve never seen it.


Bloomberg Originals

Singapore's Economic Success and Emerging Challenges

Singapore's rapid transformation from a colonial port to a global city.

Its high per capita GDP surpassing the UK and US.

World-class infrastructure, efficient transport, and affordable housing.

Challenges faced in balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability.

Slowing economic growth, aging population, and the threat of climate change.

Harnessing Renewable Energy: Floating Solar Farms

Shifting from imported natural gas to renewable energy to achieve net-zero by 2050.

Solar power as the most viable renewable energy option due to abundant sunshine.

Tengeh, one of the world's largest inland floating solar farms, and its capacity.

Increased water demand requiring more energy-intensive sources, necessitating renewable energy solutions.

Reservoirs as ideal locations for large-scale solar panel deployment, improving efficiency and reducing evaporation.

Plans to expand floating solar farms to two more reservoirs, increasing capacity.

Limited space necessitates importing renewable energy, but native renewables could account for over 6% of the energy mix by 2050.

Collaboration with Equatic on a carbon capture and hydrogen production plant.

Aquatics' technology for seawater electrolysis, carbon capture, and hydrogen production.

Demonstration plant's expected carbon capture and hydrogen production capacity.

Tengah New Town as Singapore's greenest housing project, promoting sustainability.

Smart technologies implemented in Tengah, including car-light town center and centralized cooling system.

Use of 3D environmental modeling software to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Integrated environmental modular (IMEM) technology for simulating environmental parameters before construction.

Doubling down on greenery and planting a million more trees by 2030.

Tengah as a living laboratory for testing smart, sustainable, and biophilic features.

Biophilic design's focus on reconnecting humans with nature and enhancing quality of life.

Strategic tree planting aligned with wind flow to enhance breeze and shade.

Greenery's impact on lowering temperatures and increasing outdoor activity.

Conclusion: Singapore's Urban Planning Model

Meticulous urban planning creating a city where sustainability and convenience intersect.

Lessons learned from Singapore's approach for smaller places facing similar challenges.