Singapore to splurge $17m in upgrading SMEs' energy use

It'll address 4 key concerns.

The Singapore government will be setting aside some $17 million for SMEs to assess, monitor and improve their energy performance, according to a speech delivered by S Isawaran, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs.

The speech was delivered at the Standards eXchange on Resource Efficiency on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 held at Resorts World Sentosa.

The Minister added "to further help SMEs improve energy efficiency, I am pleased to announce that the Government is launching the SME Energy Efficiency initiative. This will encompass the four areas of Energy Audit, Energy Monitoring System, Energy Efficiency Project Implementation and Energy Efficiency Thought Leadership."

Here's an excerpt from his speech:

First, SMEs can now use SPRING’s Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) to conduct an audit of their current energy usage and to identify areas to improve energy efficiency.

For this, SMEs can work with any of the 11 Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) that have been pre-qualified to provide energy audits under the ICV scheme.

Secondly, for energy monitoring, funding is available through iSPRINT for SMEs to install systems that allow long-term continuous self-monitoring of energy consumption. From the data so collected, companies can identify energy-intensive areas within their operations which can be improved.

Thirdly, SMEs can obtain further funding from SPRING under the Capability Development Grant (CDG) to undertake larger energy efficiency projects that could involve process optimisation, workflow redesign or the installation of energy-efficient equipment or technologies.

Finally, the SME Energy Efficiency initiative also supports thought leadership in energy efficiency under a pilot training programme developed in collaboration with the McKinsey Capability Centre: Green Campus, to drive the sustainability of energy efficiency initiatives in the organisation.

The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) will lead the SME Energy Efficiency initiative with the support of SPRING Singapore, the National Environment Agency and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. We aim to help some 300 SMEs achieve at least 10 per cent savings in energy consumption over the next three years.