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Singapore unveils one of the world's biggest floating solar panel farms

Singapore unveils one of the world's biggest floating solar panel farms
Singapore © unsplash.com

Singapore unveiled on Wednesday one of the world's largest floating solar panel farms, spanning an area equivalent to 45 football fields and producing enough electricity to power the island's five water treatment plants.

The project is part of efforts by the land-scarce Southeast Asian city-state to meet a goal of quadrupling its solar energy production by 2025 to help tackle climate change.

Located on a reservoir in western Singapore, the 60 megawatt-peak solar photovoltaic (PV) farm has been built by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries (SCIL.SI).

The solar farm could help to reduce carbon emissions by about 32 kilotonnes annually, comparable to taking 7,000 cars off the roads, according to a joint statement by the company and Singapore's national water agency PUB.

As opposed to conventional rooftop solar panels, floating ones perform between 5% to 15% better because of the cooling effect of the water, and are not impacted by shading from other buildings, according to a presentation on the project.

The electricity generated from the 122,000 solar panels on the 45-hectare (111.2 acres) site should make Singapore one of the few countries in the world to have a water treatment system fully powered by sustainable energy.

To allay concerns about the environmental impact of such projects, PUB said an assessment was conducted before installing the solar panels to ensure there was no significant impact on wildlife or to water quality.

"It was carefully designed to improve airflow and allow sunlight passing through the water (to reach aquatic life)," said Jen Tan, a regional head at Sembcorp Industries.

The solar panels are designed to last for 25 years and drones will be used to assist with maintenance.

Currently, there are four other floating solar panel projects underway in Singapore.

Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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