Singapore solar farms - 19th March 2021

Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world. But it produces a lot of carbon dioxide. This hurts the environment.

The government wants to start using renewable energy. The best option for Singapore is solar power. But this is difficult in such a small country.

Sembcorp is an energy company in South East Asia. It is solving Singapore's space problem. Sembcorp is placing solar farms on water.

Jen Tan is Senior Vice President of Sembcorp.

Jen Tan: "So, after exhausting the rooftops, the available land, which is very scarce, the next big potential is actually our water area and we've got many reservoirs in Singapore that we can do floating, dual use floating and reservoir at the same time."

This solar farm was completed recently. It sits on the Johor Strait between Singapore and Malaysia. 13,000 solar panels are joined to the seafloor. It can produce enough electricity for 1,400 flats.

An even bigger solar farm is planned. With 122,000 solar panels, it will be one of the biggest in South East Asia.

Singapore hopes to increase its use of solar power from 0.5 percent today to 3 percent in 2030.

Subhod Mhaisalkar teaches at Nanyang Technological University. He believes 3 percent is not enough. He hopes solar energy will make up 20 percent of Singapore's energy in the future.

Subhod Mhaisalkar: "I don't think Singapore has a choice. Singapore has to consider every possible option for solar cell deployment so that solar photo electricity or solar electricity can contribute anywhere between 10 to 20 percent of Singapore needs in a long-term basis.