Forget air-con, Singapore looks underground for a cooler future

Deep underneath Singapore’s northeastern district of Punggol, a 5km (three-mile) network of metal pipes roars as it pumps chilled water to cool offices and classrooms overhead.The 140-year-old concept known as District Cooling uses less electricity than centralised air conditioners – a major advantage for a resource-starved tropical island-nation that has to import nearly all its energy and where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the global average.The city state has laid pipes beneath at least eight neighbourhoods so far, with the Marina Bay network – the world’s largest underground system – having begun operations in 2006. More buildings will be linked up to that system, and separate facilities are being rolled out in other parts of the city by firms like Keppel-eaas" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="142762" data-entity-type="organization">Keppel EaaS.A Keppel employee checks reverse osmosis membrane pipes at a desalination plant in Singapore. Photo: ReutersThe roll-out comes as Energy Security takes centre stage in countries, including Singapore, that are reeling from energy shortages caused by the Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="107864" data-entity-type="event">US-Iran war, while also bracing for an exceptionally hot summer due to a projected “Super El Nino”. District Cooling is a solution that is gaining traction around the world, particularly in the Middle East, and is projected to grow to a US$60 billion market by 2034 by one estimate.