Two Singapore hospitals partner with Keppel to explore district cooling collaboration

The MoU will study whether the DCS plant can supply chilled water to the hospitals.

Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) and Jurong Community Hospital (JCH) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Keppel Ltd.’s Infrastructure Division to assess the feasibility of Keppel expanding its upcoming District Cooling System (DCS) plant in Jurong Lake District.

Under the MoU, the exploratory study will include the DCS plant’s supply and service coverage of chilled water for the two hospitals.

If the project moves forward with a formal agreement, both hospitals could eventually link up with the 29,000 Refrigerant Tonnes (RT) DCS plant, which will be a first in Singapore's healthcare sector.

It aims to improve energy efficiency at the hospital complex, which is already rated Green Mark Platinum, whilst potentially reducing costs and carbon emissions.

“This could, in turn, free up some of the hospital's rooftop and plant room space, which are occupied by cooling towers and standby chillers, for other meaningful activities such as patient care and therapy,” said associate professor Dan Yock Young, CEO of NTFGH and JCH.

Currently, these two hospitals rely primarily on a centralised chilled water supply. Standby chillers and energy storage solutions are also in place to protect against cooling interruptions, which are critical for 24-hour healthcare operations.