COVER STORY
HDB to bring solar energy to over 8,000 blocks through the SolarNova programme Staying on track to meet the target of 540 MWp of solar PV capacity by 2030.
More than 8,400 HDB blocks have been committed for solar installation to-date, to help reduce Singapore’s carbon footprint. Image: Sembcorp Industries.
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) has called the seventh solar leasing tender under the SolarNova programme. The SolarNova programme, led jointly by HDB and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), accelerates the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Singapore and helps drive the growth of Singapore’s solar industry. It is also an integral part of the HDB Green Towns Programme (GTP) which aims to make HDB towns more sustainable and liveable. Including this SolarNova tender, HDB has committed a total solar capacity of 380 MWp for about 8,400 HDB blocks, including HDB’s efforts prior to the SolarNova programme, when HDB ran pilots on solar initiatives. This is equiva12
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER April 2022
lent to powering 95,000 four-room flats with solar energy. In 2019, HDB announced a new solar target of 540 MWp by 2030, after having achieved its earlier solar target of 220 MWp. This new target could potentially generate 648 GWh of solar energy annually, contributing towards the national solar targets of 1.5 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2025 and 2 GWp by 2030, as set out under the Singapore Green Plan. The latest SolarNova tender, with a solar capacity of 75 megawatt-peak (MWp), aggregates public sector demand for the installation of solar panels across 1,290 HDB blocks and 99 government sites. HDB has progressively rolled out batches of tenders over the years, so as to
reap economies of scale and lower costs from the installation of solar panels on neighbouring blocks. These are also subject to tender timelines. HDB Green Towns Programme The HDB Green Towns programme, launched in 2020, aims to bring sustainable living to all existing HDB towns by 2030, with large-scale implementation of green features to improve residents’ quality of life. One of the programme’s three focus areas is to reduce energy consumption from the grid through the harnessing of solar energy. HDB is the largest driver for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Singapore, today. Under the SolarNova programme, HDB
