The largest property developer here has unveiled an innovative solar project that will soon power 45 residential blocks in Punggol with the sun’s energy.
The Housing Board yesterday inked a ‘solar-leasing’ agreement with local solar manufacturer Sunseap Enterprises, which will design, install and maintain the $11 million system.
The 2MWp (megawatt peak) solar photovoltaic set-up converts sunlight into electricity, which will then power common-area facilities such as corridor lights and lifts in the 45 blocks. A watt peak is a measure of power output used in relation to photovoltaic solar energy devices.
It will be the biggest solar installation here to date, and the first solar-leasing project.
The Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council will take out a 20-year lease on the system from Sunseap Leasing, a unit of Sunseap Enterprises.
The town council will thus be spared the cost of the panels and their installation, but instead of buying power from the national grid, it will do so from Sunseap Leasing. The electricity will be priced at the current tariffs, with a 1 per cent discount thrown in.
HDB chief executive Cheong Koon Hean yesterday described the solar-leasing model as a ‘win-win’ one.
If the arrangement takes off, it could pave the way for more solar projects across the island, marking a turning point in Singapore’s growing solar industry.
As this is a test-bed project, HDB will cover 30 per cent of the cost, or $3.28 million; Sunseap will foot the rest.
Sunseap Leasing director Frank Phuan said the company has obtained financing from overseas banks to cover the cost, and will make its money by selling electricity to the town council over the next 20 years.
Up till now, the HDB has bought and installed its own solar panels – for 40 blocks in 10 towns.
With the solar-leasing model, it taps private enterprise to grow the solar programme, said Dr Cheong. She added that the HDB could look into doing the same for another 70 blocks, although their locations have yet to be identified.
‘We are going to learn about solar power generation through this test bed – what works, what doesn’t work… The solar-leasing model enables us to ramp up more quickly the introduction of solar power into HDB towns,’ she said.
Punggol, as Singapore’s first eco-town, is the ideal location for the HDB to start, she added. The agreement comes under the HDB’s $31 million, five-year scheme to test-bed solar energy at 30 of its precincts.
Three companies had bid for the contract, and Sunseap won due to its price and technical abilities, said the HDB.
The 11-year-old Sunseap has 35 staff and a factory in Boon Lay where it manufactures its solar panels. Most of its output is exported to Germany, which has a thriving solar industry.
Dr Thomas Reindl, a director at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, said solar leasing, though popular in countries such as the United States, is new in Asia.
The benefits of this system are that building owners can buy green power without having to pay upfront costs; and they also do not have to pay more than the prevailing electricity tariffs.
‘However, this concept works out for the leasing company only when electricity prices are not subsidised, such as in Singapore,’ he added. In countries where electricity costs are subsidised, it will not work because the leasing company will incur losses.
HDB’s Dr Cheong said she hoped the test-bed project will contribute to Singapore’s search for solar power generation technologies and develop the regional solar industry.
The installation of the solar panels will be completed by the middle of next year.
This article was originally published in The Straits Times.
