PUB mulls installation of solar panels in reservoirs

Ten reservoirs will be reviewed.

PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, will launch a nine-month feasibility study to determine the solar deployment potential at its reservoirs and facilities.

The $338,000 study will determine the usable space for solar deployment and guide PUB’s future efforts in solar deployment. It will be conducted by a consortium led by WEnergy Global Pte Ltd, with SMS Consulting Engineers Pte Ltd and Progressive Engineering & Management as consortium members.

PUB has identified ten reservoirs for the study. The study will assess the extent to which solar panels can be installed and the solar yield achievable before proposing a business model and implementation plan. Besides reservoirs, the study will also look into the solar deployment potential at land-based facilities such as waterworks and water reclamation plant.

Solar PV technology has been identified as a key renewable energy source that has high potential for large-scale deployment in Singapore. The reservoirs, with their open surface area, offer much potential for solar energy generation.

Prior to this study, PUB had installed solar panels at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks with a capacity of 1 megawatt peak (MWp). PUB, EDB and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (under NUS) are also test-bedding a floating solar system at Tengeh Reservoir, which includes an environmental study to measure the impact of such systems on reservoir evaporation, biodiversity and water quality. The panels are expected to be installed by 2016.