Construction of Singapore’s largest floating solar farm at Kranji Reservoir to begin in 2025

Construction work for a new mega floating solar farm is expected to begin at Kranji Reservoir in 2025, now that an environmental study has found that the installation of solar panels is unlikely to have a major impact on the biodiversity there.

The project – which will be the country’s largest solar farm to date – will be a major boost to Singapore’s efforts to harness more renewable energy.

The solar farm is expected to be able to produce 141 megawatt-peak (MWp) of clean energy, or 112.5 MWp when converted to AC, which is the voltage used by the electricity grid and most of Singapore’s electrical appliances.

This will contribute around seven per cent of Singapore’s target of two gigawatt-peak (GWp) of solar capacity by 2030, according to the environmental assessment report. The 2 GWp target can generate enough energy to meet the annual electricity needs of around 350,000 households.

According to the Energy Market Authority (EMA), Singapore’s solar capacity is at around 1.2 GWp as at the first quarter of 2024.

The idea of the solar farm was first floated in 2018 by the Economic Development Board (EDB), which had launched a request for information then to explore the possibility of a 100 MWp floating solar panel system for private-sector use.

EDB said then that as companies turn to renewable energy to reduce their carbon footprint, the availability of renewable energy in Singapore is viewed as a favourable consideration for business investments and expansions.
 

In 2019, information technology company Malkoha, a subsidiary of Meta – which also owns social media platform Facebook – was selected by EDB to study the technical feasibility of the project, and its potential environmental impacts.

The results of the environmental study were published online on 7 June, and concluded that impacts of the construction and operation of the solar farm on biodiversity in the reservoir could be “adequately managed with mitigation measures”.

Construction work for the Kranji solar farm will begin in 2025, and the solar farm will be operational from around 2027 to 2028.

Kranji Reservoir is situated close to various ecological sensitive areas, such as the Kranji Marshes, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, and Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat.

According to the environmental impact assessment, conducted by environmental consultancy ERM for Malkoha from 2020 to 2023, a number of bird species of conservation concern were identified to have foraged in the reservoir, or around the reservoir’s edges.

These species, which consist of migratory and resident waterbirds, feed mostly on the reservoir’s fish, and often forage in the central western area of the shoreline – close to the Kranji marshes – and the southern part of the reservoir, the report noted. Some migratory waterbirds also feed on the reservoir’s aquatic plants.

Many of these birds are nationally endangered, such as the little tern, purple heron, and the white-winged tern.

To mitigate the project’s potential impact on these species, only 21.5 per cent of the reservoir’s surface area will be covered with solar panels, and a 50 m boundary should be established between the panels, and the western shoreline, according to the report’s recommendations.

In addition, each cluster of solar panels has been reconfigured such that areas frequented by foraging birds are avoided, said the report.

Doing so can also help to mitigate potential impacts to water quality, which may indirectly arise due to the lack of light penetration, and changes to wind drag and heat exchange, said the report.
 

Large solar photovoltaic clusters were also broken up into smaller ones, to create a 30 m to 40 m corridor for the plant’s operational vessels to pass through, and to ensure access for emergency Singapore Civil Defence Force boats.

Mr Muhammad Nasry, the executive director of the Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity, told The Straits Times (ST) that most birds generally seem to dive along the shoreline, and the 50 m boundary would give them sufficient leeway to do so.

According to the report, a 25 m boundary was initially proposed, but this was later increased to 50 m after consultations with nature groups.

While the 30 m to 40 m gaps between the solar panel clusters may not be sufficient for birds like the white-bellied sea eagle and little terns which dive into the reservoir to source for food, other species like herons may be able to adapt, using the solar panels as a platform to forage in the reservoir waters – as was the case in Tengeh Reservoir, said Mr Nasry.

Mr Ho Xiang Tian, co-founder of environmental group LepakInSG, said that in the longer term, more herons and egrets could end up being attracted to the solar panels, resulting in a potential net gain in bird species.

Asked whether changes to the reservoir’s water quality or ecosystem could affect food sources for birds, Mr Ho noted that only the northern half of the reservoir would be blocked.

The white-bellied sea eagle would be able to forage for fish at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, while little terns, which are also reservoir divers, could benefit from boat movement within the reservoir, as the boat’s wake can also help to attract more fish, he noted.

ST has contacted EDB and Meta on their plans for the project.

Solar energy is the most promising renewable energy option for Singapore, which lacks access to other forms of renewables such as hydropower or wind energy. An earlier report commissioned by the EMA had found that it was feasible for Singapore’s power generation sector to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Given its land constraints, Singapore has been ramping up its solar capacity on its reservoirs, with the first such farm rolled out at Tengeh Reservoir in July 2021, with a capacity of 60 MWp.

Other than the upcoming installation at Kranji Reservoir, two more large-scale solar farms are currently in the works – a 100 MWp solar farm in Lower Seletar Reservoir, and a 44 MWp solar farm in Pandan Reservoir.
 

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.