Singapore Raises Solar Target to 4 GWp by 2035, Pushing Panels onto Carports, Facades and Vacant Land

On Tuesday, October 27, Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang stood before the Asia Clean Energy Summit and laid out where Singapore plans to put its next solar panels: on carports, on the walls of buildings, on patches of vacant land, and even on the clay-tiled roofs of heritage buildings.

The push follows a new target announced a day earlier at Singapore International Energy Week, which the summit runs alongside. Singapore now aims for 4 gigawatt-peak (GWp) of solar capacity by 2035. The earlier goal was 3GWp by 2030. The country has so far reached 2.3GWp.

To find ways to install panels in awkward places, JTC launched two innovation challenges on Tuesday. Selected projects will receive JTC funding to develop and test their solutions. The first asks for systems that can be fitted directly onto building facades. Ms Gan said this is harder than a conventional rooftop installation, because designers must account for building design, orientation and structural requirements, as well as maintenance, performance and cost.

The second challenge looks for quick-to-deploy containerised solar panels paired with mobile battery energy storage. Ms Gan said such systems would help temporary worksites with limited or no grid access, which now depend heavily on noisy, polluting diesel generators. The government also intends to explore using vacant land with mobile containerised panels.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) is launching a new tender for solarising public premises, covering new surfaces such as solar carports and building-integrated photovoltaics. The tender will pool demand from across government agencies, which Ms Gan said creates greater scale and more opportunity for the solar industry. Under a new framework, a panel of solar photovoltaic installers will be appointed to help agencies assess their buildings' potential and draw up tailored proposals. EMA said the framework should open up sites with different tenures, operational needs and conditions, and make better use of Singapore's limited space. Building-applied photovoltaics are also among the options agencies may explore.

Homeowners are part of the plan too. EMA has signed an agreement with the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore to build a one-stop digital portal for owners of landed homes. It is meant to gather solar-related information and services so homeowners can understand their options, connect with installers and look into group purchases.

Heritage buildings present a particular puzzle. Because traditional clay tile roofs are integral to their character, conventional panels have been installed only in limited areas of their roofs. Singapore plans to pilot solar roof tiles on heritage state buildings without compromising their architecture. EMA has signed an agreement with the Swiss innovation centre CSEM to research and develop the technology. The agreement also covers knowledge exchange on solar photovoltaic and grid-integration solutions, testing of standards, safety, reliability and performance, and identifying pilot projects.

Ms Gan was candid about the ceiling. Even with every surface in play, solar will meet at most 10 per cent of Singapore's electricity needs in 2050. Many of the other low-carbon options under consideration are still nascent and not ready for deployment soon, which makes imports of regional low-carbon electricity an important option. She said Singapore is building a pipeline of promising import projects and that clear rules for regional electricity trade would reduce uncertainty for developers and improve the bankability of projects.

One piece of that is the ASEAN regulatory guidelines for submarine power cable activities, covering subsea surveys and the laying, maintenance, repair and protection of cables. ASEAN energy ministers voiced support earlier in October, and Singapore, as incoming ASEAN chair, will work to get the guidelines endorsed in 2027.