HDB buys solar panels for $2.3m

HDB has purchased 4,348 solar panels worth $2.3 million from Norwegian energy company Renewable Energy Corporation (REC). To date, this is the biggest solar panel procurement in Singapore.

The new solar panels will be installed in the fourth quarter of 2010 in six precincts across Singapore, which include Jurong, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Telok Blangah, Aljunied, and Jalan Besar. The installation will cover around 3,000 residential units or around 30 HDB slab blocks.

The panels can produce a total energy capacity of around 1MWp. According to HDB, a solar panel block can produce enough energy from one day of sunlight to power all of its common area services, such as corridor lifts and lighting, for that entire day. On average, these consume about 600kWh each month. The excess energy goes back to the power grid.

“That will save money for the town councils, which will eventually translate to savings for the residents as well,” said Mr. Tay Kim Poh, chief executive of HDB.

According to a HDB spokesman, the solar panels are thought to produce 170MWh of energy every year in total, bringing “a total savings of around $40,000 per year per precinct”.

The proposed installation is part of the Solar Capability Building Program of HDB, which is solely funded by the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Sustainable Development (IMCSD). The IMCSD has allocated $31 million for HDB to set up solar panels in 30 precincts in the next five years.

HDB’s initial solar panel installation was held in Wellington and Serangoon in December 2008. Since then, the price of solar panels has fallen by more than half to $2.33 per Wp from $5.17 per Wp. Currently, it is in the process of installing solar panels in Bukit Panjang, Tampines, Tanjong Pagar and Marine Parade.

In addition, HDB will collaborate with US-based environmental engineering company Camp Dresser & McKee to study the development of Punggol Town as “Singapore's first eco-town”, said Mr. Tay.