Shell Singapore eyes solar farm near Bukom refinery

Shell and Singapore government agency JTC signed a non-binding initial agreement today to explore the development of a solar farm, as part of the oil major's long-term plan to shift its core operations in the country towards lower carbon alternatives.

The solar farm will be based on part of the Semakau Landfill, close to Shell's Pulau Bukom refining complex where capacity will be cut by 40pc next month as part of the firm's strategic shift.

The planned farm will be the first large-scale solar project in Singapore, where a sanitary landfill is also used for clean energy generation, the firms said. "This project is aligned with our 10-year plan to repurpose our core business, cut our own CO2 emissions in the country and help our customers decarbonise," Shell Singapore chairman Aw Kah Peng said.

The 10-year plan, announced last November, includes reducing capacity at Shell's 500,000 b/d Pulau Bukom refinery by 200,000 b/d in July to cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Singapore by around a third within the next decade. Shell has set a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.

The planned project, supported by Singapore's National Environment Agency and Energy Market Authority (EMA), is also in line with the city-state's target to increase solar deployment to at least 2GW peak (GWp) by 2030. The solar farm is expected to have a capacity of at least 72MWp, sufficient to reduce CO2 emissions by 37,000 t/yr and power up to 17,500 households for a year.

"Our energy sector is moving towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. Solar is our most promising renewable energy source and is a key switch for decarbonisation," EMA chief executive Ngiam Shih Chun said.

By Reena Nathan