HDB launches largest solar leasing tender
Natalie Tan
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched its largest solar leasing tender to date, for the installation of solar panels in more than 1,000 buildings across the island.
Under the new tender, solar panels with a capacity of 113 megawatt-peak (MWp) will be installed in 1,075 HDB blocks under the charge of Aljunied-Hougang, Nee Soon and Sengkang Town Councils, as well as 104 government sites.
These sites include 55 schools, 22 Ministry of Defence sites and 14 heartland malls.
This is the eighth solar leasing tender under the SolarNova programme, led jointly by HDB and the Singapore Economic Development Board, to accelerate the deployment of solar photovoltaic systems in the country.
The launch is in line with recent efforts to transition to net-zero energy consumption with the use of solar panels. In 2019, HDB announced a solar target of 540 MWp by 2030, after having achieved its earlier target of 220 MWp. Including this new tender, HDB has committed a total solar capacity of 440 MWp – which meets more than 80 per cent of its solar target. It is equivalent to powering 110,000 four-room HDB flats.
In HDB estates, solar energy is used to power common services such as lifts, lights and water pumps. The excess solar energy is channelled to the power grid to offset energy consumption.
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“On average, we have been able to achieve net-zero energy consumption for the common areas of HDB blocks where solar panels have been installed,” HDB said.
To date, about 3,300 HDB blocks have been equipped with solar panels. The installation of new ones is to be done in batches, and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026.
This initiative is part of the HDB Green Towns Programme, which was launched in 2020 and aims to make HDB towns more sustainable and liveable. The programme focuses on reducing energy consumption, recycling rainwater, cooling HDB towns, promoting green commutes and reducing waste.
HDB also aims to implement the Elevator Energy Regeneration System to “recover energy generated during lift motions and braking operation, to power other services within the lift, such as lighting, ventilation and the lift display panel”, it said. This is expected to reduce lift-energy consumption by 20 per cent on average. Retrofitting works are expected to begin in 2024.
Since 2015, eight such solar tenders have been launched. The first tender called for a solar capacity of 40 MWp, but was fulfilled with 76 MWp by Sunseap Leasing. Installation of this first batch of solar panels was completed in November 2021, at 831 HDB blocks and eight government sites.
HDB has launched a new solar leasing tender every year since then, except for 2020. It has been gradually increasing the solar capacity and sites of installation. Including solar efforts prior to the SolarNova programme, about 9,000 HDB blocks have been tendered for solar panel installation.
Installation of the solar panels will be determined by a feasibility assessment of the site conditions in each block. However, while the eventual number of blocks installed with solar panels could vary slightly, HDB is “committed to achieving our target of 540 MWp of solar energy by 2030”.
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