(Picture credit: Economic Development Board)

Tengeh Reservoir, formerly a river that emptied into the Straits of Johor and later dammed, is due to get a centrepiece--Singapore’s first floating photovoltaic test-bed project.

The S$11 million pilot, which will be operational by 2013, is intended to showcase the city-state's continuing efforts to overcome land and resource constraints and as part of Singapore's sustainability efforts. The objective here is to assess the feasibility of installing floating solar PV systems on water as an alternative to rooftops.

With a finished system size of 2 megawatts, the test-bed will also allow a study of any improvements in performance of the solar modules from the expected cooling effect of the water. And when connected to the national grid, this is expected to generate enough solar energy to power 450 four-room flats.

The project was announced at the Solar Pioneer Awards during SIEW, and is co-led by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and national water agency PUB. In a media statement, EDB Managing Director Dr Beh Swan Gin said: "This pilot project exemplifies Singapore’s continuing efforts to overcome our resource constraints through innovative renewable energy solutions. The project also enables cleantech companies to address a sophisticated need, which if successful, can be scaled up and commercialised globally."

In a speech delivered at the event, the National Environment Agency (NEA)'s CEO Andrew Tan (photo above) also said: "Singapore has also been accelerating our knowledge and usage of solar systems in the last few years. Many recent solar installation projects are larger in size than previous projects and the level of system integration expertise has improved. Notably, for Singapore, where energy prices are not subsidised, the price gap between solar power and grid electricity can be expected to close further as the price of solar systems fall and our knowledge and capabilities improve."