HDB calls for largest solar leasing tender in Singapore

THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) has called for the first multi-agency solar leasing tender in Singapore, which at 40 megawatt-peak (MWp) is the largest to date in both the public and private sectors in Singapore, said HDB and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) in a statement on Friday.

The multi-agency solar leasing tender will close on Aug 14, 2015, and is estimated to be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year.

The tender will see solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed in eight Ministry of Home Affairs and PUB sites, as well as at some 900 HDB blocks located across Singapore.

For the Ministry of Home Affairs, the solar PV systems will be installed at Tuas Checkpoint, Woodlands Checkpoint, Home Team Academy, Airport Police Division and the ministry's headquarters at Phoenix Park.

For national water agency PUB, the installation of solar PV systems will be at Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Bedok Waterworks and WaterHub.

The tender is called under the government-led solar lead demand programme, SolarNova, which is spearheaded by EDB.

Under this programme, EDB encourages government agencies to come together to harness solar energy to power their activities, which will in turn spur the growth of the solar industry in Singapore.

This is the first tender to be launched under the programme, which aims to have solar power contribute 350 MWp to Singapore's system by 2020. More tenders under SolarNova will be called over the next four to five years, the agencies said.

Currently, about 55 MWp of solar energy has been procured by HDB, excluding the 40 MWp tender called on Friday.

By the end of this month, about 250 HDB blocks across the city-state will be installed with solar panels, while installation works are in progress for another 772 blocks. With the latest tender, a total of about 2,000 HDB blocks will soon harness solar energy, according to both agencies.