Featured Stories | Singapore Economic Development Board

Reducing carbon footprint in the business world

Legislations are being put in place to help curb carbon emissions by businesses today. Find out how efficient carbon management can be implemented while businesses continue to remain competitive. Get the insights.

Case study as featured at World Cities Summit 2010.

Incorporating business-friendly eco-solutions

Increasing industrialisation is eroding the world's natural biodiversity, giving rise to cold concrete jungles. To achieve a balanced landscape, eco initiatives adopted by businesses have to be commercially viable too. Discover the solutions.

Case study as featured at World Cities Summit 2010.

REC Catapults Singapore onto the World Solar Map

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) of Norway is the top fully integrated solar energy company that has activities along the entire solar value chain from polysilicon to solar modules to system integrators. When the Oslo-based giant wanted to build a new world-scale plant, several countries flocked to its doors. After nine months of screening more than 200 possible locations and a due diligence of almost 20 sites, REC elected to build its plant in Singapore.

The investment, totalling S$6.3 billion, is the world’s largest investment in a single integrated solar manufacturing project to date. When fully developed, it will produce up to 1.5 GW of solar wafers, cells and modules a year. Singapore’s stable infrastructure, highly skilled workforce and strong semiconductor industry were pivotal factors in REC’s decision. The country’s track record in developing chosen industries was another.

"Once the Singapore government decides to develop a new industry, it has proven to have a very strong capability of doing so, like in the biomedical and electronics sectors," said Erik Thorsen, president and CEO of REC. He added: "We see Singapore as an ideal spot for REC to bridge into the Southeast Asia market, which we believe will be an attractive market for solar in the long-term."

Vestas Brings Winds of Change

The world's top wind technology company chose to set up its regional headquarters and global R&D centre in Singapore. Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark - the world's leading manufacturer of wind turbines – opened its HQ in Singapore in 2007 and plans to invest up to S$500 million over the next 10 years to develop its largest R&D centre outside of Denmark here.

"Singapore is an excellent location for our regional office as it has good infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce for us to draw upon," said Thorbjørn N. Rasmussen, President of Vestas Asia Pacific. Vestas is seeing increasing appetite in Asia for wind technology. The company currently has an installed base of over 5,000 wind turbines in wind farms across China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Fuelling Up: Neste Oil

Finnish fuel company Neste Oil is investing approximately S$1.2 billion to build the world's largest facility producing diesel fuel from renewable feedstocks in Singapore. The plant will be based on Neste Oil's proprietary NExBTL technology, the first commercial new-generation renewable diesel production process that can use any vegetable oil or animal fat as its input. The plant, targeted to be ready by end 2010, will produce 800,000 tonnes per annum of premium-quality renewable fuel. When operational, the plant will employ around 100 people and will be a significant addition to the current crop of three biodiesel plants on Jurong Island.