One Of World’s Largest Floating Solar PV Power Projects Completed In Singapore
I recall when floating solar PV power plants popped onto the scene at some point in the past decade. On the one hand, the idea was so funny and fanciful that it seemed unrealistic. On the other hand, there appeared to be a lot of benefits to the approach — cooler surfaces (which help with solar panel efficiency, approx. 5–15%), fairly simple installation, no need to compete with other sectors for land use, no concern of shade, large and predictable spaces. The latter hand has indeed been winning out, as the floating solar PV market has been growing larger and larger.
The latest news of a large floating solar PV power project comes out of Singapore, a place that knows the challenges of limited land extremely well. The city-state, home to about 6 million people, launched one of the largest floating solar power plants in the world this week. The project will reportedly cover an area equal to 45 football fields! More specifically, but much harder for me to visualize without the previous comparison, the area covered is 45 hectares (111.2 acres). In total, there are 45,000 solar panels spread across the water. The purpose of this solar power plant floating over some good old H2O? Powering Singapore’s 5 water treatment plants, ironically.
Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm. Image courtesy of Sembcorp Industries Ltd. View Terms of Use.
That’s not where the fun of new tech used for good ends. Facility operators will use drones to monitor the PV facility. The solar panels are expected to last 25 years, but I would not be surprised to see them go much longer, especially with effective, smart maintenance.
The floating solar power plant is named Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm and is located on the Tengeh Reservoir. The project, built by Sembcorp Floating Solar Singapore, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries, offers 60 megawatts (MW) of power capacity. A short video of progress to date was published a couple of days ago at the link above. As cool as the concept of floating solar PV power plants is, and as cool as pictures of a large project are, I don’t think the concept or a few pictures compare to watching a video of a large project (even one that’s just 55 seconds long), so I do recommend clicking that link above and watching the production from The Straits Times/Singapore Press Holdings Limited. (No, we don’t have any association with them or get rewarded if you do. I just think the video is super cool.)
Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm. Image courtesy of Sembcorp Industries Ltd. View Terms of Use.
For those concerned about the aquatic life under the innovative power plant, have no fear — extensive environmental analyses were conducted, the project is designed to allow adequate sunlight to go through to the plants and animals underneath, and this type of project has been shown to assimilate well with fish, mermaids, and other sea creatures.
Singapore has been sold on floating solar power. Aside from this large project, the city-state has 4 other floating solar projects under construction. I expect more to be announced in the future as well. Overall, Singapore is aiming to quadruple its solar power use by 2025, and let’s be honest, it’s not flush with deserts or underutilized fields — but it is surrounded by a fair bit of water.
Solar power is growing across the world at a fairly fast clip. However, as with almost all things, there are limitations. There are limitations with resources, trained workers, cash money, and time. Therefore, there is always a question of how best to spend money, where to spend it, and what to do after you’ve spent it. How and where should one — whether a person, company, or city-state — invest in solar power to maximize the result?
Clearly, Singapore has decided that floating solar PV projects make a lot of sense for its needs and resources. For anyone else still weighing options. Or, for that matter, for anyone looking to maximize the output from a solar power project already in the ground, I recommend checking out an upcoming solar webinar we’re hosting. Along with HST and a couple of others, we will be exploring how solar project developers can support a larger pipeline of high-quality utility-scale solar projects with the same amount of time and people. We will also be looking at what can maximize project attraction for potential customers. If this sounds interesting to you, you can register for the webinar (it’s free) here.
Featured image courtesy of Sembcorp Industries Ltd. View Terms of Use.
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.
Stories we discuss in this episode (with links)
Everrati rebrands B2B EV conversion arm to ‘Powered by Everrati’ amid clientele increase
Tesla Cybertruck owner gets quoted over $30,000 for Powershare installation
CATL unveils world’s first LFP battery with 4C ultra-fast charging for 370-mi in 10 mins
Tesla (TSLA) surges on Elon Musk trying to ride AI wave
Tesla expects its 4680 battery cells to be cheaper than suppliers by end of year
Listen & Subscribe:
Share your thoughts!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.
![Watch the world's first artificial energy island being built [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Princess-Elisabeth-Island-caisson.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The first of 23 caissons for Princess Elisabeth Island, the world’s first artificial energy island, is nearly complete.
Princess Elisabeth Island will be an electricity grid at sea that will connect offshore wind farms to the Belgian mainland and also serve as a hub for future interconnectors with the UK and Denmark. Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia is the project’s developer.
The 20,000-ton caissons, which will form the energy island’s outer walls, are being built at Jan De Nul Group and DEME’s construction site in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. It takes around three months to build one caisson. The production process is split into five 20-day stages. The caissons are moved between the different work sites using “runners,” which takes about six hours.
When the caissons are ready, a semi-submersible vessel will transport them further down the harbor, where they’ll be temporarily stored in the water. They’ll then be moved to their final location in the North Sea this summer, weather allowing, said maritime infrastructure company Jan de Nul.
You can watch a time-lapse video of Princess Elisabeth Island’s first caisson being built here:
Princess Elisabeth Island is part of the larger Princess Elisabeth Zone, a future 3.5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm in the North Sea, around 45 km (28 miles) off the Belgian coast. The world’s first artificial energy island will receive power from the wind turbines via undersea cables, and it will then be converted to high-voltage electricity and distributed to the Belgian mainland and other European countries. The energy island will combine both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC).
The energy island will be finished in late 2026 when the electrical equipment will start to be installed. Princess Elisabeth Island is expected to be fully connected to all wind farms and the mainland by 2030.
Read more: 2023 was a record year for wind power growth – in numbers
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Honda is finally joining the EV race after announcing a massive $11 billion (CAD$15 billion) investment to build four new EV plants in Canada. The historic investment will be used to build Canada’s first EV supply chain, enabling 240,000 Honda EVs to be made for the US and Canada annually.
Honda reveals game changing investment to build EVs
Honda announced its largest investment in Canada ever as it prepares for the electric era. The plans for a new Honda EV plant and stand-alone EV battery factory in Alliston, Ontario.
Once fully operational, the EV facility will be able to produce 240,000 EVs a year, while its battery plant will have capacity of 36 GWh per year. Production is expected to begin in 2028.
According to a press release from the prime minister’s office, Honda will build Canada’s first comprehensive EV supply chain. The project will include four new manufacturing plants in Ontario.
In addition to the EV plant and battery factory, Honda will build a cathode active material and precursor plant through a joint venture with POSCO Future M. A second is planned with Asahi Kasei Corp.
Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, said Honda’s investment is a “game changer for manufacturing in Canada.” With a full supply chain, Honda expects to cut costs by over 20%.
Honda aims for EVs and FCEVS to account for 100% of vehicle sales by 2040. Honda also invested $700 million to retool three Ohio plants to serve as its hub for future EV and EV battery production.
Meanwhile, Honda’s first electric SUV, the Honda Prologue, went on sale earlier this year. Starting at $47,400 (excluding destination), the Prologue offers up to 296 miles range.
2024 Honda Prologue trim |
Starting Price (w/o $1,395 destination fee) |
Starting price after tax credit (w/o $1,395 destination fee) |
Starting price after tax credit (with $1,395 destination fee) |
EPA Range (miles) |
| EX (FWD) | $47,400 | $39,900 | $41,295 | 296 |
| EX (AWD) | $50,400 | $42,900 | $44,295 | 281 |
| Touring (FWD) | $51.700 | $44,200 | $45,595 | 296 |
| Touring (AWD) | $54,700 | $47,200 | $48,595 | 281 |
| Elite (AWD) | $57,900 | $50,400 | $51,795 | 273 |
With the $7,500 federal tax credit, the Prologue’s starting price can fall to as low as $39,900 (excluding destination).
Lace Woelfer, VP of Honda America National Auto Sales, said the Honda Prologue hits the “sweet spot” as a sporty, stylish electric SUV.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?