To further boost solar power generation in industrial estates, JTC has launched a tender to solarise 60 ha of interim vacant land and the rooftops of 5 JTC buildings on Jurong Island, including the Jurong Rock Caverns and Jurong Island Checkpoint. The solar roll-out will bring the total solar energy capacity on Jurong Island to 103.2 MWp, equivalent to powering 24,300 4-room HDB flats annually. This tender supports Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 to transform Jurong Island into a sustainable energy and chemicals park.
The tender will see an eightfold increase in the solar power capacity of Jurong Island from the current 12.3 MWp generated from Jurong Island companies’ rooftop nstallations. The latest solarisation effort on Jurong Island is part of JTC’s SolarLand and SolarRoof programmes that have successfully used available rooftops and temporary vacant industrial land across Singapore for solar power generation, to be subsequently exported to the national grid.
As a tender requirement, solar panels to be deployed on Jurong Island will feature next-generation photovoltaic (PV) modules with at least 20% module efficiency in generating renewable energy. PV panels deployed on interim vacant land will be easily movable, allowing them to be redeployed as and when the plots of land are needed for industrial uses.
To encourage solar adoption on the island, JTC has aggregated the solar demand of 12 Jurong Island companies interested in embarking on solarisation. The companies can tap on JTC’s solar contract to solarise their roofs and open car park spaces, if feasible, with zero upfront capital outlay. They can do so by either leasing solar panels in return for the discounted electricity, or leasing roof or open car park space to solar vendors to generate revenue. With economies of scale by aggregating the island’s solar demand, Jurong Island companies will be able to enjoy more competitive rates.
ExxonMobil is one of the Jurong Island companies that has been working to leverage solar power. Mr Rajagopalan Venkataraman, Singapore Chemical Plant Technical Director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, said, “Globally, ExxonMobil ranks among the top 30 corporate/government purchasers of global renewable power, with more than 500 megawatts in power purchase agreements in 2021. ExxonMobil also makes the building blocks for the materials used in solar panels. In Singapore, we launched solar-powered wireless instruments for equipment monitoring at our integrated manufacturing complex a few years ago. We continue to explore options to electrify our operations with lower-emission power, and are working with other organisations to harness solar power from panels on our building rooftops.”
Mr M Rossi, Director, FACI Asia Pacific, said, “The project underscores FACI's global commitment to solarisation as a corporate sustainability strategy. It is already implemented for the Green Mark Singapore offices that get 95% of their energy needs from solar panels and now extends to generating electricity for a future air-conditioned warehouse.”
Besides solarising conventional spaces like roof or open car park space, JTC is also working with interested Jurong Island companies to facilitate the deployment of floating solar in spaces located within the companies’ waterfrontage and between their foreshore structures and the shoreline of the companies’ boundary.
Vendors interested in JTC’s tender can submit their applications via Gebiz by 17 March 2023.
