Electricity generated from panels will meet part of terminal's lighting needs
Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times 11 Jul 09;
CHANGI Airport will plug into solar power to meet some of the Budget Terminal's electricity needs starting from next month.
The local arm of Germany-based Phoenix Solar beat 18 contenders to bag the $1.6 million contract to build photovoltaic (PV) panels on the terminal's rooftop. They will capture sunlight during the day, which will be converted into usable electricity.
When completed in the middle of next year, the project will cover an area of about 2,500 sq m - the size of nine tennis courts. The panels should generate in excess of 280,000 kilowatt-hours a year, a Phoenix Solar spokesman in Germany told The Straits Times. That is enough to power more than 40 five-room flats for a year.
A spokesman for Changi Airport Group said the electricity generated would meet part of the terminal's lighting needs. She did not specify how much.
This venture is the first time Phoenix Solar - which also has offices in Australia, Spain and Greece - is partnering an airport.
The work being done at Changi is part of a larger drive by Singapore to embark on viable green technologies.
Earlier this year, when the airport announced plans to embark on the solar energy project, there were questions raised about the cost-effectiveness of such an initiative.
Although Phoenix Solar would not reveal how much the PV panels cost, a panel that can produce a kilowatt of energy - or the power needed to boil a kettle of water - reportedly costs about $10,000.
Changi Airport has said that the project will not only save energy but also help lower the airport's carbon footprint through the use of clean energy.
The effort is supported by the Economic Development Board's (EDB) Clean Energy Research and Testbedding Programme.
Data gathered from the project will be used by the Singapore Polytechnic for further research on solar energy systems in Singapore.
In May, the EDB said it had given out $8 million in grants for public and private solar projects that will develop Singapore's expertise in the technology.
The Government has set aside a $68 million kitty to test-bed solar projects and to develop local skills in preparation for mass adoption of the technology when it becomes cheaper.
