(EnergyAsia, October 11 2010, Monday) — Integrated business hub Mapletree Business City (MBC), a 1.7-million-square-foot mixed development of Singapore-based Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, has received the Trane “Energy Efficiency Leader Award” for its use of innovative methods to monitor, control and reclaim waste energy.

Mapletree said the complex features energy-efficient infrastructure systems which require 34% less energy at peak cooling load compared to a Green Mark reference building in Singapore. It estimates the features will help save energy costs of around S$2.5 million per year once peak cooling load is achieved.

The complex is equipped with an efficient district cooling plant, energy efficient fluorescent light with electronic ballast for office space as well as a waste heat recovery system for hot water production.

Mapletree said the complex’s combined green infrastructure systems will enable savings of 12 million kilowatt hours (kwh) of energy, roughly equivalent to powering 3,950 3-room Housing Development Board (HDB) flats for a whole year. Carbon emissions are expected to be cut by 6,300 metric tons annually, or the equivalent of taking 1,250 cars off the road annually.

The MBC complex also has water conservation infrastructure to reduce consumption by approximately 94,000 cubic meters, roughly equivalent to 47 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Lee Pheck Yan, Mapletree’s head of development management, said:

“Tenants looking for space today are increasingly discerning about energy consumption, its high costs and the impact on the environment. To play our part in environmental sustainability and align to our tenants’ interest, Mapletree was committed to make MBC as energy and water-efficient as possible.”

Lee Eng Lock, Trane Asia Energy Solutions’ technical director, said: “The Trane Energy Efficiency Leader Award is one of our global trail-blazing initiatives to recognise our customers’ commitment to sustainability and promote energy efficiency solutions for buildings in urban communities. We are pleased to present this award to Mapletree as it has made tremendous commitment to develop and operate buildings that not only meet high standards of eco-sustainability but also create best-in-class innovations that are a beacon for its industry.”

MBC last year won the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award, the highest honour for green buildings in Singapore.