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Commentary: Floating solar farms may be key to Singapore’s clean energy future

From Singapore’s Tengeh and Kranji to Indonesian island Batam’s Duriangkang, there is huge potential for floating solar farms over reservoirs and offshore waters in the transition toward clean energy, says the National University of Singapore’s Stefan Huebner.

Commentary: Floating solar farms may be key to Singapore’s clean energy future

A photo of the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm. (Photo: Sembcorp Industries)

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SINGAPORE: If all goes to plan, Batam’s Duriangkang reservoir will be home to the world’s largest floating solar farm and supply Singapore with low-carbon electricity in a few years.

Floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on reservoirs and open waters have gained prominence, as more countries tackle the critical transition toward cleaner energy. Singapore already has multiple floating solar farms, such as at Tengeh Reservoir, and there are plans to expand installations to Kranji, Lower Seletar and Pandan Reservoirs.

Practically, Singapore’s electricity generation capacity is about 12.4 gigawatts (GW) and demand is expected to rise.

Singapore relies on natural gas as its primary energy source, contributing about 10.5 GW. However, with some power plants ageing and the nation’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, multiple new strategies are being explored. Theoretical options include carbon capture and storage technologies and ongoing research into nuclear energy.

Without major rivers and because of the low wind speed near the equator, solar energy remains the most viable renewable option, supported by the falling prices of panels.

Given terrestrial space constraints, here’s why the future of solar power in Singapore might be over reservoirs and even beyond our shores.

ADVANTAGES OF FLOATING SOLAR FARMS

Solar PV systems have some competition. There are plans to gradually retrofit existing infrastructures to transport hydrogen or ammonia, a less flammable but toxic hydrogen carrier, and use them alongside natural gas in power plants, ultimately fully substituting the fossil fuel.

Yet investing in both options and not excluding solar PV systems is prudent, as such systems can become more competitive through synergies with other uses and industrial applications. One clear synergy comes from combining building construction with rooftop solar installations, maximising the use of vertical space.

Floating solar PV installations provide additional advantages. Beyond electricity generation, they reduce evaporation through shade-casting, thereby conserving freshwater.

These systems also contribute to ecosystem management by decreasing sunlight penetration, which reduces algae growth and improves water quality for humans. However, as reservoirs vary in size and ecological sensitivity, this factor can also limit the dimensions of installations.

Moreover, the readily available water can be used for cooling the panels, which can improve their efficiency by about 10 per cent, and for cleaning them of pollutants like bird droppings.

POTENTIAL OF SINGAPORE’S SEA SPACE

Shifting attention to Singapore’s sea space is a crucial consequence, as near-shore floating solar PV technology advances and tests are ongoing.

The country’s first near-shore project, launched in 2021 in the Strait of Johor off Woodlands, has a modest capacity of 0.005 GWp (Gigawatt at peak). Additional projects creating new synergies are under consideration, including a hybrid system with tidal power generation in the waters around Raffles Lighthouse.

Such combinations, however, require locations with strong tidal movements, which often affect larger maritime ecosystems, making environmental impact assessments typically more complex than in freshwater reservoirs. Synergies can also arise from integrating floating PV systems with wave energy converters, wave breakers, wind turbines (in windier regions than those near the equator), or with near-shore floating structures that adapt to sea level rise by rising with it.

Nevertheless, Singapore’s marine space faces important limitations due to busy shipping lanes and a port area that claims most of the country’s waters. Recreational sea space poses further limitations, and the aesthetic impacts of floating PV systems could be another factor if set up in large numbers along coastlines.

These factors currently make it difficult to estimate how much marine floating solar energy may contribute to the government’s solar energy target of at least 2 GWp by 2030. The Energy Market Authority reported 1.348 GWp of installed capacity as of the first half of 2024.

A picture of the Raffles lighthouse from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's website. (Photo: MPA)

LOOKING BEYOND SINGAPORE

Looking beyond Singapore’s shores opens up opportunities for cross-border energy cooperation.

While some energy sovereignty is desirable, the reality is that the country already imports all its natural gas via pipelines and liquefied natural gas carriers from several countries, including Indonesia. One such pipeline connects southern Sumatra to Singapore through Batam in the Riau Islands.

This relationship between Singapore and Batam is set to expand into electricity generation through floating solar PV systems with the Duriangkang Reservoir project. Smaller terrestrial solar farms on nearby islands like Combol and Citlim are supposed to also supply Singapore and Indonesian communities.

Installing sufficient capacity to prevent the impression of Singapore taking away renewable energy from Indonesia matters, as one Indonesian minister recently voiced such criticism.

With reservoir and terrestrial space limited, advances in marine floating solar technology mean that attention should be paid to the aquatic spaces between Batam, Bintan and the other nearby islands. These areas could become part of a power supply infrastructure set up in proximity to Singapore, which strongly reduces the likelihood of interruptions, and within an economic framework open to Singaporean investments.

It could turn into an energy import strategy, alongside hydrogen or ammonia imports, which would also leave substantial renewable energy resources for Indonesian communities.

INDONESIA’S SOLAR POTENTIAL

Paying attention to the waters between the islands to the south of Singapore also matters, as studies emphasise Indonesia’s huge solar power potential and favourable geographical conditions for floating PV systems.

The calm waters and modest winds that are unsuitable for wind energy make conditions ideal for floating solar energy. The absence of tropical storms close to the equator strongly reduces construction and maintenance costs.

In contrast, floating solar projects in countries further north like the Philippines, Japan or China must contend with such destructive forces. In 2019, a typhoon destroyed about two-thirds of a floating solar installation in a Japanese reservoir, and last year, remnants of another installation washed up ashore in Hong Kong.

Avoiding the engineering challenges posed by natural phenomena is a clear advantage, especially when climate change is set to intensify extreme weather events.

Floating solar installations are usually 10 per cent more expensive than land-based systems – although this percentage depends very much on synergies and local environmental conditions. And concerns already include vessel collisions, equipment safety in saltwater, environmental impacts and recycling questions.

Looking out to the waters surrounding Batam and the other nearby Riau Islands for the future of solar energy could stand to benefit both Singapore and Indonesia.

Stefan Huebner is Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and the President of the Society of Floating Solutions (Singapore). His current research concerns the history and present situation of ocean industrialisation and urbanisation projects.

Source: CNA/ch

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