Sunseap to install 170,000 rooftop solar panels in Singapore

It will be placed in more than 1,200 HDB blocks and 49 government sites.

Renewable tech company Sunseap Group has won a tender to install more than 170,000 solar pens on the rooftops of more than 1,200 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks and 49 government sites.

Under SolarNova 4, Sunseap will be installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across these sites. A total of six government agencies will be participating in the fourth tender. This is the second SolarNova tender won by Sunseap, the first being in 2015.

The PV systems will reportedly generate up to 70 MWp of solar energy which can potentially offset about 42,152 tonnes of carbon emissions--the amount typically generated from 17,500 four-room HDB flats annually. Including SolarNova 4, the group will have installed more than 600,000 solar panels across 2.4 million sqm of roof space and produce enough clean energy to power more than 60,000 four-room HDB households, the release said.

The programme was jointly led by the HDB and the Economic Development Board and aggregates solar demand across government agencies to leverage economies of scale so that agencies with smaller energy demands will access clean energy.

“When this project is completed, Sunseap would have installed solar systems on top of more than 2,700 HDB blocks or more than 27% of all HDB blocks,” said Frank Phuan, CEO and executive director of Sunseap Group.

Phuan further shared that Sunseap will deploy at least 170,000 bifacial solar panels. Unlike typical solar panels, the bifacial solar panels are able to generate power on both sides of the modules and therefore increase energy yield by up to 15%. They are also more durable, lasting up to 30 years as compared to 25 years previously.