BANGKOK — Singapore is betting on floating solar farms and
vertical panels to increase its clean-energy supplies and cut carbon emissions,
a model that could work in other densely populated cities, urban experts said.
اضافة اعلان
With renewable energy options such as wind, hydro, nuclear
and biomass ruled out, solar photovoltaic (PV) is the most viable option for
Singapore, despite limited land for large-scale farms, and challenges such as
frequent cloud cover.
Last month, Singapore inaugurated a 5 megawatt (MW) offshore
floating PV system on the Johor Strait, part of its goal to install at least 2
gigawatt of solar power by 2030 – five times current capacity —and halving its
carbon emissions by 2050.
"Compared to bigger countries ... we do not have the
natural resources, land area and climatic conditions for the large-scale
deployment of renewable energy sources," said Lawrence Wong, minister for
education.
This makes it extremely hard for the Southeast Asian nation
to cut its planet-heating emissions to net zero, said Wong, adding that its
clean-energy push could make it a "living laboratory" to provide
ideas for other cities around the world.
Renewable sources are forecast to supply about 40 percent of
the world's electricity supply in 2030, with hydropower making up about half
that output, followed by wind and solar.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan and South Korea have pledged to
achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and China by 2060.
Solar energy would only be able to produce 10%-20% of
Singapore's power supply mix because of land constraints, said Thomas Reindl, a
deputy chief executive at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore
(SERIS).
To achieve this, the city-state is exploring novel options
such as floating solar farms, solar panels on building facades, noise barriers
and fencing, and mobile grids, besides panels on existing infrastructure such
as rooftops, car parks and roads.
"Singapore needs to think out of the box and become
more creative than other countries in where to put solar panels," Reindl
told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"New solar technology developments support these
options. Also, the massive cost reductions over the past decade allow to
cost-effectively install PV on the vertical parts of a building, for
example," he said.
Another area Singapore is exploring is Solar+, which
combines PV systems with other technologies such as rooftop farming, or using
offshore floating solar power to run desalination plants, Reindl added.
Floating solar farms can generate more electricity than
rooftop or on-ground installations, research by Reindl has shown, and can even
protect lakes and reservoirs from rising temperatures.
A floating solar project being built on Singapore's Tengeh
Reservoir will occupy an area equivalent to 45 football pitches, making it one
of the largest in the region.
The clean-energy push is part of Singapore's Green Plan,
unveiled last month, that also includes measures such as planting more trees,
adding electric vehicle charge points, and ceasing new registrations of diesel
cars and taxis from 2025.
Singapore's push for solar is "not only for providing
green electricity, but also for creating jobs, economic value, and
innovations", Reindl said.
"The new technologies would not only solve Singapore's
challenges but also have opportunities for other megacities."
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