Summary Reader + Response Final Draft

 

According to Kok in the article, “Go-Ahead Singapore rolls out a 6-month trial of public buses with solar panels” (2021), stated that Go-ahead Singapore will be running ultra-thin solar panels on buses in a six-month trial. The 1.6mm-thick, flexible, and shatterproof panels are placed on the roof of two Man A22 euro 6 diesel-powered buses. The use of panels is expected to save 1400 litres of fuel. This is equivalent to 3-4% of fuel, which translates to 3.7 tonnes of reduction in carbon emissions. These figures are based on data collected from a trial in Southampton. The trial will also assess the effectiveness of the panels.  According to Kok, due to Singapore’s tropical climate, the panels are expected to produce exceptional results. This will result in a greener and more efficient bus. Two buses have been qualified thus far and can be used on public road trials. The panels are also three times thinner than regular ones, making them ultra-lightweight. Kok concluded that Go-Ahead reckoned to recover the cost in four years from the reduction in fuel consumption.

In Singapore today, the high usage of diesel and other fuels in vehicles has caused high levels of air pollution. The installation of solar panels on buses makes a positive impact on air quality by lowering carbon emissions and reducing fuel consumption, which contributes to an eco-friendly environment.

Firstly, the installation of solar panels on buses makes a positive impact on air quality by lowering carbon emissions. According to Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the solar panel absorbs sunlight to generate solar energy producing electricity. During the process of converting solar energy, there is no fuel being burned. Solar power provides a cleaner gas that is naturally replenished constantly and no natural gases such as carbon dioxide will be emitted. However, diesel buses will be powered up by diesel, which will release a large amount of carbon dioxide into the air when burned. This leads to global warming, which will harm the environment badly. By using solar power instead of diesel, the amount of carbon footprints produced will be significantly lesser than diesel buses. Seng (2021) also stated that each solar panel bus can reduce approximately 3.7 tonnes of carbon emission yearly. Solar power helps to reduce carbon emissions and save the environment by minimising air pollution and contributes to an eco-friendly environment.

Secondly, the installation of solar panels on buses makes a positive impact on air quality by reducing fuel consumption. Besides powering bus mobility, buses use diesel to generate energy to power functions such as air-conditioning and charge the bus batteries, which will use up a certain amount of fuel. However, solar power can replace diesel to provide energy for the bus, leading to a lesser amount of fuel being used. This will minimise the need for frequent refilling of diesel. With Singapore’s sunny and tropical climates, the solar panel will be expected to produce enough energy to generate energy for the bus. According to Oudendijk (2020), an average of 1.7 litres of diesel was saved for every 100km during a trial period for solar-powered buses., hence helping to reduce fuel consumption.

 

However, a disadvantage of installing solar panels on buses is the uncertain weather climates. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA) (n.d.), there are two main monsoon seasons, the Northeast Monsoon season (December to March) and the Southwest Monsoon season (June to September) in Singapore. These two monsoon seasons are relatively short inter-monsoon periods (April to May and October to November), in which the beginning and ending dates of the monsoon season may differ slightly yearly. It can be inferred that around eight months of the monsoon season, there will be a higher percentage of rainy days than sunny days in Singapore. According to Meteorological Service Singapore (n.d.), Singapore has an average of 167 rainy days of the year. Due to fluctuations in temperatures and conditions, especially during the monsoon or rainy seasons, the efficiency of solar panels will decrease drastically. As a result, solar panels may not receive sufficient sunlight to generate solar power and power the bus during rainy days and night times.

In conclusion, the advantages of installing solar panels on buses outweighs its disadvantages to Singapore and the global environment. I would recommend using solar panels on buses to reduce air pollution, improve air quality and contribute to an eco-friendly environment. Moreover, this solution will be extremely useful towards tackling the issue of global warming by reducing a huge amount of harmful gases produced from buses. The strong reliance on public transportation like buses by commuters in Singapore leads to a high volume of buses operating daily and thus generating a lot of greenhouse gases if not done so. Therefore, by converting all the diesel buses into solar panels buses, I strongly believe that a large amount of carbon emission will be reduced to provide a positive impact on air quality and an eco-friendly environment.

References

Climate of Singapore |. (2020). Weather.gov.sg. http://www.weather.gov.sg/climate-climate-of-singapore/

‌2 Go-Ahead S’pore buses fitted with solar panels in trial to charge batteries & reduce fuel usage. (2020). Mothership.sg. https://mothership.sg/2021/03/2-go-ahead-spore-buses-solar-panels/

‌How Does Solar Work? (2022). Energy.gov.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work

Pilot project : FlixBus launches first long-distance bus equipped with solar panels.(2020). Today.rtl.lu. https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/1466902.html

Singapore targets to halve peak emissions by 2050, achieve net zero emissions “as soon as viable” in second half of century. (2020). CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-targets-halve-peak-emissions-2050-achieve-net-zero-emissions-soon-viable-second-half-century-1338776

‌Seng, S. (2021, March 30). S’pore Buses With Solar Panels Debut On 30 Mar, Paving The Way For Greener Public Transport. Must Share News - Independent News for Singaporeans; Must Share News. https://mustsharenews.com/buses-solar-panels/

Waaree Energies Ltd. (2021, October 26). Solar panels for buses | Should buses use Solar Panels? Waaree Energies Ltd. https://www.waaree.com/blog/should-buses-use-solar-panels

What is Singapore’s climate like? (2017). Ecitizen.gov.sg. https://va.ecitizen.gov.sg/CFP/CustomerPages/NEA_google/displayresult.aspx?MesId=4855544&Source=Google&url=va.ecitizen.gov.sg