With so much sun in Singapore, solar energy has always been the first thing on people’s minds when renewable energy was discussed. However, due to factors like technology cost, efficiency and other factors the rates of return on investment was 15 years or more.
In the last few years due to the advancement in R& D and economies of scale due to mass production of solar panels in countries like China & Taiwan, there was a steep downward trend in the prices of solar panels the key component in the solar system. There has also been considerable advancement in balance of system as well as growth in human capital trained in this area. Due to all these factors the rate of return on investment has now been decreased to 7- 10 years and has led to an increased take up rate by industrial and commercial buildings in Singapore. Not only has the take up rate increased but also the size of the solar systems and there is a trend towards megawatt size solar systems. Examples like the new Sports Hub, and Sheng Siong supermarket’s distribution centre.
Another factor for this adoption is due to the price of power not being subsidized in Singapore, which leaves room for more options to compete with regular sources of power. This makes sources of power like solar power, and even biomass and biogas economically viable. Solar power is able to contribute the most among the other renewable energy sources to Singapore’s energy mix because Singapore has abundant sunlight all year round, sufficient rooftop space, established research and development institutions like the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, Energy Research Institute @ NTU, and funding support from organisations like the National Research Foundation as well as other private financiers.
SEAS released its first White Paper in January 2014 about accelerating renewable energy in Singapore. It showed how by 2025, solar power can contribute 4.8% of 2025 forecasted demand, or 2,400 GWh/year. This is about 2GWp of installed solar PV, compared to the 14,746 kWp of installed solar PV at the end of 2013. The White Paper explains that increases in global PV module production have driven costs low enough in the last two years for a rooftop PV system in Singapore to pay for itself in half the time it used to be able to. This results in an internal rate of return of 8 – 13%, which is attractive, and thus solar does not need incentives to make it attractive.
In order to attract private investors the solar market needs to be robust with predictable targets. Singapore government’s “SolarNOVA” scheme where government building will be early adopters and take the lead to install 350MW will do just that. The Singapore government has seen the viability of solar, and its support for solar power was made known on the 7th of March 2014 when Minister Iswaran made an announcement during the Committee of Supply Debate. He said that the Economic Development Board (EDB) is going to work with various government agencies to deploy solar power across government buildings and spaces through “SolarNOVA”. This creates a market for solar power, giving the sector a boost and growing its presence in Singapore further.
While some industrial and commercial establishments have already started using solar power for their buildings, a full statement from the government that it intends to work on this further is a good step forward. SEAS as an industry association representing the sustainable energy companies welcomes this strong signal of support for the solar industry and will continue its efforts to raise awareness about this sector and thus promoting Singapore as the clean energy hub for the region.