IN JUNE 2022, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) began installing solar panels across Sentosa, with the aim of making the resort island carbon-neutral by 2030.

Nearly a year-and-a-half later, the island has been equipped with solar capacity of 5.2 megawatt-peak (MWp), surpassing the original target of 3 MWp set in June 2022, said SDC on Tuesday (Nov 14).

The island is expected to produce close to 6.6 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy annually, which could mean a cutting back of more than 2,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year – about the amount of carbon emissions generated by 97,700 hotel room nights.

Since June 2022, SDC has worked with five island businesses to deploy the solar panels in 46 locations, including the rooftop of Palawan Kidz City. The five businesses are Mount Faber Leisure Group, Resorts World Sentosa, Capella Singapore, One°15 Marina Sentosa Cove and Big Tiny, which runs the eco-friendly vacation homes on Lazarus Island.

SDC has launched Phase Two of its solarisation programme, which entails getting more businesses, including Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa and FOC Sentosa – on board this public-private push for sustainability.

It said that the target for Phase Two, to be achieved by the end of 2025, is a cumulative islandwide solar capacity of more than 6 MWp. This would generate an estimated annual yield of over 7 GWh of clean energy.

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Thien Kwee Eng, chief executive officer of SDC, said: “By commencing Phase Two, we will continue to maximise deployable spaces, including non-conventional areas, to bring us closer to achieving our 2030 carbon-neutral goal.”

SDC says on its website that although its own share of the island’s overall carbon footprint is estimated to be only between 6 per cent and 8 per cent, the corporation is in a position to influence the island’s carbon profile “as its master planner, landlord, precinct operator, brand ambassador and custodian”.