WEBVTT - Are Singaporeans ready for solar power?

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<v Speaker 1>It's a Singapore today top story with Lance and Daniel.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk about Senior Minister Teo Chee-yin saying Singapore is

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<v Speaker 2>on track to achieving its solar power deployment target of

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<v Speaker 2>about 2 gigawatt peaks by 2030. Now, that's equivalent to

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<v Speaker 2>powering about 350,000 households a year, and it could meet

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<v Speaker 2>around 3% of projected power demand right here in Singapore.

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<v Speaker 2>Gonna have to get used to some new terminology and

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<v Speaker 2>normal kilowatt hour for solar. It's gigawatt peak. Interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh, so, OK, so that's a lot of power. Actually,

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<v Speaker 2>when you think about it, this update is actually a

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<v Speaker 2>very important one. Solar energy is being identified as one

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<v Speaker 2>of Singapore's four key switches to achieve its net zero

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<v Speaker 2>target by 2015, 250, OK. We're not going all in

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<v Speaker 2>on solar, so it's not going to be the main

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<v Speaker 2>thing that it's one of four, diversify, diversify, diversify, right?

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<v Speaker 2>That's the key to success. Professor Lee Po Seng is

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<v Speaker 2>on the show, executive director, Energy Studies Institute, NUS. Professor Lee, hello.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, thanks for having me. Where are we in terms of,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, 2050 is not that far away when you

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<v Speaker 2>think about it. Are we ready for solar power to

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<v Speaker 2>to make this line in the sand today to draw

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<v Speaker 2>it like Minister Teo has done and say that we're

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<v Speaker 2>on track to get there?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think Singapore has actually made good progress in

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<v Speaker 2>solar deployment. So as you pointed out earlier, by the

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<v Speaker 2>end of 2024, the nation had deployed 1.5 gigawatt peak

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<v Speaker 2>of solar energy, surpassing.

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<v Speaker 2>The initial 2025 target ahead of schedule. So this milestones

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<v Speaker 2>reflects the effectiveness of strategic planning, government incentives, and public-private

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<v Speaker 2>collaboration in advancing renewable energy adoptions.

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<v Speaker 2>So the country is on track to meet its 2030

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<v Speaker 2>target of at least 2 gigawatt peak, which is projected

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<v Speaker 2>to supply around 3% of electricity demand and power approximately

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<v Speaker 2>350,000 households annually. So while this is an important

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<v Speaker 2>A step towards sustainability, it underscores the reality that solar

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<v Speaker 2>alone cannot be the dominant energy source due to land

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<v Speaker 2>constraints and intermittency. So the next phase of Singapore energy

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<v Speaker 2>transition will focus on reintegration, energy storage, and clean electricity imports. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>it's so important that we diversify like what Daniel was

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<v Speaker 2>saying and

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<v Speaker 2>It's important that we look at nuclear energy, we look

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<v Speaker 2>at hydroenergy that's, that's coming from uh overseas, from uh

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<v Speaker 2>other Southeast Asian countries as well. But isn't it good

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<v Speaker 2>that we're finding more geothermal energy spots here in Singapore?

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<v Speaker 2>You would have heard the news that they found another

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<v Speaker 2>geothermal energy source in Yishun.

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<v Speaker 2>So maybe if we use that, I'm not sure how

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<v Speaker 2>much of power that could generate, but it's a good

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<v Speaker 2>thing as well because then we could be looking at cleaner,

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<v Speaker 2>greener energy right here in Singapore and maybe we can

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<v Speaker 2>finally change the image of Yishun.

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<v Speaker 2>What do you think? Probably I think certainly the nothing

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<v Speaker 2>is actually off the table, right, but Singapore is actually

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<v Speaker 2>a very new renewable energy challenge city states. So we

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<v Speaker 2>will need to constantly look for new sources of energy,

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<v Speaker 2>including the death of Joe Turner, and if you refer

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<v Speaker 2>to the recent budget announcement, there's also going to be

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<v Speaker 2>a more

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<v Speaker 2>Comprehensive studies on the feasibilities of nuclear power, right? So

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<v Speaker 2>I think it will be an ongoing exercise to actually

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<v Speaker 2>evaluate different solutions as the technology matures. So I'm actually

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<v Speaker 2>very hopeful that in time to come, we will be

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<v Speaker 2>able to embrace newer forms of energy, right, to complement

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<v Speaker 2>our energy mix.

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<v Speaker 2>What are we talking about in terms of what will

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<v Speaker 2>practically benefit the most from solar power? Are they gonna,

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<v Speaker 2>are we gonna channel it to certain sectors, certain areas

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<v Speaker 2>of Singaporean life that will really benefit because I think

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<v Speaker 2>the first touch.

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<v Speaker 2>For a lot of Singaporeans with this rollout of solar power,

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<v Speaker 2>when all those panels appear on top of the HDB blocks, right?

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<v Speaker 2>We've got all that land surface area on top of

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<v Speaker 2>the HDB blocks, very well used. We also have a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of cloud cover in Singapore, unfortunately, um, so you know,

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<v Speaker 2>how's it going to benefit Singapore life? Mm. So solar

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<v Speaker 2>energy is being integrated into multiple sectors. I think just

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<v Speaker 2>now you already point out right for as part of

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<v Speaker 2>public infrastructure, right, especially the solar Nova program.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh, has rolled out solar panels across HDB estates, schools

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<v Speaker 2>and government buildings, and we are also seeing floating solar farms, right?

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<v Speaker 2>So Singapore has deployed large scale firm.

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<v Speaker 2>Solar farms, such as the 60 megawatt peak installation at

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<v Speaker 2>the Tengga Reservoir. Then there's also the commercial and industrial, right?

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<v Speaker 2>For example, companies like Capo, Sancorp, and Sunset have adopted

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<v Speaker 2>rooftop solar for energy cost savings. Then there's also the

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<v Speaker 2>aspect on smart grids and EV charging, right? Solar energy

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<v Speaker 2>is now being integrated into the microgrid systems and the

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<v Speaker 2>EV charging networks.

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<v Speaker 2>So that a variety of applications that can take advantage

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<v Speaker 2>of the green electrons coming from solar power. Can big

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<v Speaker 2>industries also harness solar energy or are we focusing more

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<v Speaker 2>on these households, the Singapore households?

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<v Speaker 2>I think it just spans across both the the bigger

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<v Speaker 2>energy guzzler, right, for example, the commercial, the buildings, the

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<v Speaker 2>industrial building, as well as the residential, but I think

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<v Speaker 2>what we should be mindful is actually if you look

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<v Speaker 2>at some of the the commercial or industrial applications, right,

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<v Speaker 2>because of the higher energy intensity, just relying

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<v Speaker 2>On solar alone won't be able to satisfy the entire

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<v Speaker 2>energy demand, right, just to use example, right? So if

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<v Speaker 2>you are thinking of having on-site solar power to supply

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<v Speaker 2>to data centers, right, that would be not sufficient, right,

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<v Speaker 2>because we are now talking about, for example, racks going

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<v Speaker 2>up to 140 kilowatt.

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<v Speaker 2>In time to come 500 kilowatt or even 1 megawatt.

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<v Speaker 2>So the energy intensity or the energy demand is actually

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<v Speaker 2>very intense. So just solar alone won't be able to

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<v Speaker 2>set such energy intensive application, but if it's actually more residential,

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<v Speaker 2>then yes, especially for, for example, the the landed properties,

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<v Speaker 2>I think solar will then be able to satisfy at

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<v Speaker 2>least to a large degree the demand.

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<v Speaker 2>What are the costs of rolling this out on a

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<v Speaker 2>larger scale, like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>We do have the cloud cover to contend with. We

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<v Speaker 2>have the rainy seasons to contend with and solar panels,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, they're getting cheaper though, right? The solar panels

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<v Speaker 2>from China are getting cheaper though la.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, certainly. So the cost actually comes from a number

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<v Speaker 2>of aspects. First, as you point out, installation costs, right,

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<v Speaker 2>especially in our very dense urban environment, right, due to

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<v Speaker 2>the limited space, as well as the engine constraints. So

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<v Speaker 2>the cost of installation will be actually higher. The second

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<v Speaker 2>is actually the grid connection and the infrastructure, right, so

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<v Speaker 2>it actually requires like transformers, smart inverters.

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<v Speaker 2>An energy management system for stability. So again, this will

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<v Speaker 2>be another cost element. Then there's operations and maintenance, right,

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<v Speaker 2>because of our humid climate that accelerates the panel, the degradation,

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<v Speaker 2>necessitating frequent cleaning and maintenance. So there's also an operation

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<v Speaker 2>and maintaining cost. Then to address the intermittency, right, there

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<v Speaker 2>may be a need to also integrate energy storage system.

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<v Speaker 2>So all this actually adds

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<v Speaker 2>To the total cost of deploying solar in our urban context. Right.

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<v Speaker 2>So when you look at maybe a housing estate and

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<v Speaker 2>it wants to deploy a lot of these uh photovoltaicic

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<v Speaker 2>type solar panels, that means we've got to have storage facilities,

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<v Speaker 2>we need to have transformer, uh, facilities, units all within

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<v Speaker 2>that area so that it can quickly harness the energy,

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<v Speaker 2>save the energy, and then distribute the energy.

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<v Speaker 2>For the context of high-rise residential estates, right, because most

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<v Speaker 2>of these solar installation will be on the rooftop. So,

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<v Speaker 2>as you can imagine, right, so the footprint is actually limited.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, I think the most, if not all of

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<v Speaker 2>the solar energy that is generated will

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<v Speaker 2>We actually used to supply the common areas, for example,

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<v Speaker 2>the lighting, potentially the leaves, right. So I think that

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<v Speaker 2>pretty much actually consumes the most of the on-site generation

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<v Speaker 2>of solar power. So the needs for, for example, on-site,

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<v Speaker 2>the energy storage system in this particular use case is

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<v Speaker 2>actually the, the lesser, right? But if you are actually

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<v Speaker 2>looking at other application whereby the on-site demand or consumption.

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<v Speaker 2>of solar energy is actually not as high, then suddenly

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<v Speaker 2>you need to look at either feeding the solar energy

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<v Speaker 2>into the grid, right, or you have to then to

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<v Speaker 2>cater for the energy storage system to actually store the

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<v Speaker 2>excess energy that is generated and actually use it, for example,

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<v Speaker 2>at night. Right, right. Are we also looking at still

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<v Speaker 2>getting a lot of solar power coming from Australia because

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<v Speaker 2>there was talk that we could be putting these underwater caves.