SINGAPORE’S SUNSEAP TO BUILD WORLD’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR FARM IN INDONESIA

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Sunseap Group’s floating solar farm will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island, Indonesia spanning around 1,600 hectares. It will be the largest solar floating farm in the world.

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Sunseap Group in Singapore has announced that it plans to spend $2 billion to build the world’s largest floating solar farm and the energy storage system in Batam, a neighbouring Indonesian city, which will double its renewable power generation capacity.

Sunseap in a statement mentioned that the floating photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of 2.2 gigawatt-peak (GWp).

The Co-founder and Chief Executive of Sunseap, Frank Phuan said that this single project will double the group’s entire portfolio. More importantly, it will build Sunseap’s capability towards hyper-scale solar and energy storage projects.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed for the project between Singapore’s Sunseap Group and Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority, Badan Pengusahaan Batam (BP Batam).

Floating solar systems: Significance

Sunseap’s Frank Phuan said that the floating solar systems will go a long way to address the land constraints that the urbanized parts of Southeast Asia Face in tapping renewable energy.

Phuan further added that the hyper-scale project can also pave the way for similar green energy projects in south-east Asia.

The expansion of the floating solar projects will present an interesting new front in a race to meet the demand for zero-emissions electricity supply for Singapore.

Location of the world’s largest floating solar farm:

The floating solar farm will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island, Indonesia spanning around 1,600 hectares. It will be the largest solar floating farm in the world.

The reservoir serves as a source of freshwater to Batam Island, which sits just 20 km from Singapore.

The placement of the farm on the reservoir will also have an additional benefit of reducing evaporation. At the same time, the proximity of water will also allow the solar farm to operate at lower temperatures as well as improve overall efficiency