Floating solar power plant opens in Singapore
One of the world's largest floating solar power plants was inaugurated in Singapore at the end of July. Over 122,000 solar panels cover an area of 45 soccer fields on the Tengeh Reservoir. To build the solar park as environmentally friendly as possible the floating platforms were made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This material is recyclable, corrosion-resistant and food-safe. Since the construction of the station had to be carried out under pandemic conditions the developers from Sembcorp Industries also used drones.
The solar park has a capacity of up to 60 megawatts which will provide power to all five water treatment plants in Singapore. It is expected to save 32 kilotons of carbon dioxide annually.
Singapore is one of Asia's largest CO2 emitters per capita. In February 2021, the government unveiled a "green plan" to protect the climate which includes measures such as planting trees and building charging stations for the increased use of electric cars. The country has also pledged to completely stop emitting harmful substances into the atmosphere in the second half of the 21st century.
But the lack of land in the city-state makes the use of wind and solar power plants problematic. Floating solar power plants can now be part of a creative solution to this problem.
Source: Chris Young, article on wissenschaft-x.com; https://www.wissenschaft-x.com/singapore-opens-122000-panel-floating-solar-farm(last access on 08/23/2021 at 8:40 a.m.)