Asia Clean Energy Summit 2018

The fifth edition of the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) was held from 31 October to 2 November 2018 at Marina Bay Sands, Sands Expo & Exhibition Centre, Singapore, featuring speakers who set the benchmark for best practices as well as debate trends and solutions in the regional solar and clean energy industry.

Organised by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), ACES 2018 marked new milestones with its annual theme of Harnessing Clean Energy for the Future.

• For the first time, SEAS launched the PowerACE competition for start-ups in the energy sector to showcase innovative ideas to leading industry experts. Advanced Vision Analytics Pte Ltd (AVA Asia) clinched the top honour with SGD50,000 in grant amount from Enterprise Singapore. Lumani Pte Ltd was the first runner-up and Metron APAC Pte Ltd was the second runner-up.
• Making its debut in Singapore was the fourth International Off-Grid Renewable Energy Conference, a global platform to share experiences and best practices, identifying synergies and forging partnerships in off- grid renewable energy.
• The International Conference on Renewable Energy on Healthcare was held on 2 November 2018 to raise awareness on the need to harness renewable energy to improve energy access for rural healthcare facilities.

With a heightened awareness on the need to pursue clean and renewable energy in Asia, ACES 2018 opened with the address from guest of honour Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. In his opening address, Minister Masagos, who made a reference to the Paris Agreement Work Programme, laboured the point that Singapore continues to invest in renewable energy as one of its core strategies under its Climate Action Plan. “Singapore will continue to push the boundaries of solar innovation and adoption”, he said.

Er. Edwin Khew, chairman of SEAS, addressed the Summit with his message, “Singapore has unlocked the benefits of renewable energy significantly over the past few years and ACES will continue to act as a catalyst for decision-makers in the public and private sectors to seek the best strategies to leverage on this trend”, he said.

Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, said in an ensuing speech, “Global energy transformation is accelerating and the transition is nowhere more evident than here in Asia, a continent that is leading the way with the largest renewable energy market in the world. Southeast Asia has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing regional economies”, he noted.

Clean Energy Leaders’ Dialogue
Participants were treated to a panel discussion on how a diversified energy portfolio with a focus on decarbonisation could mark the way forward as countries strived towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all.

Solarising Singapore and Asia
This session brought together policymakers and business decision-makers in a discussion aimed at addressing the core subject of how solar energy could be further leveraged in the region.

Frank Phuan, co-founder and director of Sunseap Group Pte Ltd, was the first keynote speaker. He spoke about the distributed solar generation and other decarbonising solutions in an urban environment, and shared his insights and vision on forays into the region by democratising solar power in the region. The second keynote of the session was delivered by Rana Adib, executive secretary, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, who discussed about the rapid transformation in the power sector and how it is driving rapid change towards a renewable energy future.

ACES 2018 attracted more than 1,499 participants with 35 per cent comprising senior management from over 80 countries. With delegates and decision-makers from Southeast Asia, ACES is the leading renewable energy conference in the region, with 90 exhibitors at the exhibition.