Featured Stories | Singapore Economic Development Board

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.

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 then, 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, then 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.

DNV

DNV, one of the world's leading risk management service providers, has established a new Clean Technology Centre (CTC) to meet the growing demand for clean technology innovation. The CTC will offer technology qualification, certification and risk assessment services in areas such as clean energy, green shipping, climate change adaption, sustainable buildings and urban solutions.

Bosch

Together with the recent opening of its new HQ building in Singapore, Bosch announced that it is investing €15 million to conduct research in organic photovoltaic technology. The S$92 million Singapore headquarters building is also the greenest building for Bosch globally, with advanced environmentally friendly features.

Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry officiates the opening of Robert Bosch (SEA) Regional Headquarters with Bosch's management.
From L to R: Mr. Cem Peksaglam, President and Managing Director of Robert Bosch (SEA) Pte Ltd, Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, Minster for Trade and Industry, Mr. Franz Fehrenbach, Chairman of the Bosch's Board of Management, Mr. Uwe Raschke, Board Member for Asia Pacific