(EnergyAsia, October 13, Monday) — Singapore’s energy and utilities provider Tuas Power said its new green consultancy services will help companies improve the energy efficiency and operating cost of their buildings through better design. Companies using the services will be able to secure a Green Mark Gold rating awarded by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
 
To raise environmental awareness and encourage energy-efficient practices in the construction and real estate industries, BCA recently made it compulsory for new buildings to be Green Mark certified.

Under the BCA Green Mark scheme, buildings are assessed and rated on their energy efficiency, water efficiency, site and project development and management practices, indoor environmental quality, and environmental protection and innovation standards. Buildings are awarded Platinum, GoldPLUS, Gold or Certified rating depending on the points scored.

Tuas Power said its green consultancy services, an extension of the Tuas Power Green Programme introduced last year, will enable developers of new buildings to obtain at least a BCA Green Mark Gold rating, which is a grade above the minimum required BCA Green Mark Certified rating.

When a company achieves a Gold, GoldPLUS or Platinum rating, it will receive up to $3 million in incentives from BCA and at the same time enhance the company’s corporate branding and potentially increase the building’s rental and resale values.

Tuas Power President and CEO Lim Kong Puay said: “We are constantly looking to create value for our customers, helping them to optimise energy usage while promoting good environmental practices. An example of such initiatives is our Tuas Power Green Programme, which encourages companies to undergo energy audits to improve their energy efficiency and lower costs.

“We are extending such benefits to customers with new property developments by helping them review, identify and recommend improvements in the base design and features of their buildings through the Green Consultancy Services, to meet BCA Green Mark certification requirements, as well as achieve greater environment sustainability, higher energy efficiency and in turn, cost savings.”

Tuas Power said companies can enjoy subsidies of up to 80% on consultancy fees. Customers will have to sign a three-year electricity contract to enjoy the subsidy for the Green Consultancy Services which will be given in the form of rebates in their electricity bills for the first 12 months.

BCA CEO John Keung said: “New buildings consume huge quantities of energy in their development and throughout their lifetime – energy that could be saved by integrating high standards of energy efficiency at the design stage. Tuas Power has been truly exemplary in this regard by promoting energy efficiency and Green Mark Certification among the corporate sector at the initial stages of development projects. We hope that more companies will join Tuas Power in promoting and adopting environmentally sustainable business practices.

“Incorporating environment-friendly measures right from the building design stage will make it more convenient and cost-effective for the property developers and owners, as compared to having to install such features in existing buildings. Moreover, the subsidy rebates offered by Tuas Power will offset a significant proportion of the consultancy costs, thus making it attractive for developers to ‘green’ their new buildings.”

Tuas Power Ltd owns generation assets totalling 2,670MW of capacity with four highly-efficient combined cycle plants and two oil-fired steam plants. The company is also the first in Singapore to develop and maintain large-scale trigeneration plants for petrochemical and pharmaceutical companies through one of its subsidiaries.