PSC is proud to have assisted Sembcorp in delivering the dynamic system and power quality studies prior to the energization of their Tengeh Floating Solar Farm in Singapore. PSC’s contribution to this project led to us thereafter supporting planning activities surrounding Sembcorp’s long-term renewables portfolio in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and to PSC recently hosting Sembcorp for a UK tour in November 2021.

Big challenges require collaboration

Decarbonization and the journey to net-zero are significant challenges the world is wrestling with. As the major source of global emissions, the energy sector is at the epicenter of it all. Electricity specifically will play a key role across all sectors, from transport and buildings to industry. Simply put, if we are to achieve a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables, we must collaborate.

That’s why PSC and Sembcorp are working together to support the global energy transition.

Building relationships

Looking to the future, Sembcorp is working up a strategic plan for generation and transmission infrastructure that will enable it to transform its portfolio from brown to green. To further develop their extensive sustainable generation assets and services, they are considering a mix of generation sources, energy balancing facilities and power export assets. To that end, PSC was asked to arrange visits to an HVDC interconnector and a pumped hydro facility to help understand the assets’ scale, facilities, benefits and challenges, to inform Sembcorp’s ultimate decisions.

Sharing knowledge and experiences

From left, Ng Chung Teik (Sembcorp) , Gary Landels (PSC), Chua Kia (Sembcorp), Tim Miles (PSC), Hamish Law (PSC), Derrick Mirikitani (Sembcorp). Photo credit, Allan Burns (PSC)

Sembcorp’s tour to the UK included visits to National Grid’s North Sea Link and the Cruachan Power Station in Scotland.

The North Sea Link (NSL) is a joint venture between the UK’s National Grid and Norway’s system operator Statnett. This interconnector stretches 447 miles (720 kilometers) under the North Sea and can share up to 1400 MW of electricity between the countries.

PSC’s Hamish Law led our visit to the UK side of the NSL. Hamish has worked onsite at NSL over the last year, supporting the Hitachi team in commissioning and testing the system, so he was well-positioned to show us around the various halls, compounds and control rooms. Backed by his onsite experience, Hamish explained the equipment, described the technology, and spoke to the purpose of both while underscoring how this kind of system might benefit Sembcorp.

At the Cruachan Power Station, Martin McGhie from the Drax Group took us on an interesting tour deep into the heart of the Ben Cruachan mountain in the Scottish Highlands. This hydroelectric facility was officially opened by the Queen in 1965 and was the first reversible pumped storage hydro system on this scale in the world at that time. Cruachan offers a vast hydro reservoir and four associated generator turbines, each able to deliver power to the grid within a few seconds of being requested.

With these visits, Sembcorp now has a more informed context of these asset types, which will help them plan their portfolio for an optimal and sustainable effect.

This activity demonstrates how we collaborate globally and add value as a diverse yet integrated team, forging real progress in the energy transition.

Teamwork makes the dream work

The relationship between PSC and Sembcorp is developing well, driven by the successful collaboration between PSC’s Singapore-based Tri Hu Li and Scotland-based Steve Nutt. They have provided excellent support to Sembcorp on their first floating solar project. Others from PSC have become involved more recently as the EU team has just delivered some urgent front-end routing and feasibility works for a potential development in Singapore. This work was delivered on a tight timeline with a scope that crossed our Network Planning and Engineering teams, all working under the project management of Allan Burns. We are now working on various other proposals for Sembcorp, covering FEED, HVDC studies and HVAC owners engineer scopes.

With our global experience on major projects, PSC’s energy experts are poised to support all our clients around the world so that, together, we will power a sustainable world.

Contact us to talk about how we can help with your projects – large and small.