Solar Energy
Space-starved Singapore builds floating solar farms in climate fight
Thousands of panels glinting in the sun stretch into the sea off Singapore, part of the land-scarce city-state’s push to build floating solar farms to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
It may be one of the world’s smallest countries, but the prosperous financial hub is among the biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in Asia.
And while authorities have been pushing to change that, renewable energy is a challenge in a country with no rivers for hydro-electricity and where the wind is not strong enough to power turbines.
So the tropical country turned to solar power — however, with little land space in a place half the size of Los Angeles, it has resorted to setting up energy plants off its coasts and on reservoirs.
“”After exhausting the rooftops and the available land, which is very scarce, the next big potential is actually our water area,” said Jen Tan, senior vice president and head of solar in Southeast Asia at conglomerate Sembcorp Industries, which is building a project.
An island-state threatened by rising sea levels because of climate change, Singapore is aware of the urgency of cutting emissions, although critics say authorities’ environmental commitments have thus far fallen short.
The government last month unveiled a wide-ranging “green plan” that included steps such as planting more trees, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and building more charging points to encourage the use of electric cars.
Among the measures is increasing solar energy use four-fold to around two percent of the nation’s power needs by 2025, and to three percent by 2030 — enough for 350,000 households per year.
As well as on water, solar power plants have already been built on rooftops and on the ground.
– ‘New frontier’ –
One newly built solar farm spreads out from the coast into the Johor Strait, which separates Singapore from Malaysia.
The 13,000 panels are anchored to the seabed and can produce five megawatts of electricity, enough to power 1,400 flats for an entire year.
“The sea is a new frontier for solar to be installed,” said Shawn Tan, vice president for engineering at Singaporean firm Sunseap Group, which completed the project in January.
“We hope that this will set a precedent to have more floating projects in the sea in Singapore and neighbouring countries.”
Under development at Tengeh Reservoir is a far bigger project — once completed later this year, the 122,000-panel solar farm will be one of the biggest in Southeast Asia covering an area the size of 45 football pitches.
The project, developed by Sembcorp and the national water agency Public Utilities Board, will generate enough power to meet the energy needs of Singapore’s water treatment plants, said the agency’s senior planner Sharon Zheng.
This will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions equivalent to removing 7,000 cars from the roads.
The solar panels are imported from China, the world’s largest manufacturer of the technology, and anchored to the floor of the reservoir with blocks of concrete.
– ‘Insufficient’ targets –
But the maritime hub could even face some space constraints when it comes to floating solar, said Subhod Mhaisalkar, executive director of the Energy Research Institute at the city-state’s Nanyang Technological University.
“Do you use the ocean waters for deploying solar, or do you use it for shipping?” he told AFP.
And despite the push for green power, the city-state will struggle to wean itself off a reliance on climate-damaging natural gas, and to cut emissions without impacting its refining and petrochemical sectors.
In addition, projects such as floating solar farms are not enough unless backed up with a greater official commitment to cut emissions, said Red Constantino, executive director of the Philippines-based Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.
Singapore has pledged to halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and achieve net zero emissions “as soon as viable” in the second half of the century.
But this is behind other developed economies, and the Climate Action Tracker, which tracks governments’ commitments, has classified its targets as “highly insufficient”.
Singapore is not doing its “fair share”, Constantino told AFP, adding the solar farms risked becoming “mere bling” unless the government moved faster.
“They need to set a higher absolute target. Such a target sends a signal to the very business community by which Singapore’s economy thrives.”
800-mn-euro battery factory to be built in Finland
by AFP Staff Writers
Helsinki (AFP) Mar 20, 2025
A Chinese-Finnish company announced Thursday it would begin building a battery materials plant in Finland in April, the first of its kind in the Nordic country.
The plant will produce cathode active material, a key component in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and for energy storage, said Easpring Finland New Materials, a company co-owned by Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring Material Technology.
It said the investment was worth 800 million euros ($868 million).
The announcement came one week after a bankruptcy filing by Swedish battery maker Northvolt, which had planned to develop cathode production but dropped those plans to focus on battery cell production as it fought for survival.
Easpring Finland New Materials said commercial production was expected to begin in 2027.
The plant, to be located in Kotka in southeast Finland, will initially produce 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material annually.
At full production capacity, it could supply cathode material for the production of around 750,000 electric vehicles annually, the company said.
Matti Hietanen, the chief executive of Finnish Minerals Group, said the investment created an “entirely new kind of industry in Finland related to the production of lithium-ion batteries” and represented a European “spearhead project for the industry.”
The new plant will employ 270 people and an area of around 80 hectares had been reserved for its construction.
Related Links
Nanocellulose infused with red onion extract shields solar cells from UV degradation
by Robert Schreiber
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Mar 20, 2025
Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland have developed a bio-based film that provides high-performance UV protection for solar cells, utilizing nanocellulose treated with red onion skin extract. This marks the first comparative study of how various bio-derived UV filters perform over time.
Solar cells, susceptible to damage from ultraviolet radiation, are typically shielded by petroleum-derived films such as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In an effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, researchers are exploring sustainable alternatives like nanocellulose, a material made by refining cellulose into nanoscale fibers that can be customized for UV blocking capabilities.
The study, conducted in collaboration with Aalto University in Finland and Wageningen University in the Netherlands, revealed that nanocellulose films dyed with red onion extract blocked 99.9% of UV rays up to 400 nanometres. This performance surpassed that of commercial PET-based filters, which served as a benchmark in the research.
“Nanocellulose films treated with red onion dye are a promising option in applications where the protective material should be bio-based,” stated Doctoral Researcher Rustem Nizamov from the University of Turku.
Researchers evaluated four types of nanocellulose films enhanced with red onion extract, lignin, or iron ions, all known for their UV-filtering properties. Among them, the film incorporating red onion extract demonstrated the most effective UV shielding.
Effective UV protection must be balanced with the ability to transmit visible and near-infrared light, essential for solar energy conversion. While materials like lignin excel in UV absorption, their dark hue hinders transparency. In contrast, the red onion-based film achieved over 80% light transmission at wavelengths between 650 and 1,100 nanometres, maintaining this level over extended testing.
To simulate prolonged outdoor use, the films were exposed to artificial light for 1,000 hours, equating to roughly one year of natural sunlight in central Europe. Researchers tracked changes in the films and solar cells through digital imaging.
“The study emphasised the importance of long-term testing for UV filters, as the UV protection and light transmittance of the other bio-based filters changed significantly over time. For example, the films treated with iron ions had good initial transmittance which reduced after aging,” tells Nizamov.
Tests focused on dye-sensitised solar cells, which are particularly prone to UV-induced deterioration. The findings also have broader implications for other solar technologies like perovskite and organic photovoltaics, where bio-based UV filters could play a crucial role.
“These results are also relevant for the UV protection of other types of solar cells, including perovskite and organic photovoltaics, as well as any application where the use of a bio-based UV filter is paramount,” Nizamov says.
Looking ahead, the researchers aim to create biodegradable solar cells that could serve as power sources in applications such as food packaging sensors.
“The forest industry is interested in developing new high-grade products. In the field of electronics, these may also be components for solar cells,” noted Kati Miettunen, Professor in Materials Engineering.
The University of Turku’s Solar Energy Materials and Systems (SEMS) group is exploring ways to integrate solar technologies into broader energy systems.
This work was part of the BioEST project, supported by the Research Council of Finland.
Related Links
University of Turku
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Space Solar teams with MagDrive to boost in-orbit solar power systems
by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) Mar 20, 2025
Space Solar, a leading force in the field of space-based solar power (SBSP), has formed a strategic alliance with UK propulsion technology company Magdrive to enhance the deployment of large-scale infrastructure in orbit. The agreement, unveiled during the Farnborough International Space Show (FISS), is formalized under the Space Propulsion and Infrastructure Innovation Initiative (SPI3), reflecting a concerted push to realize space-driven clean energy.
SPI3 is designed to help fulfil the UK’s long-term goal of producing scalable, sustainable energy directly from space. By integrating Magdrive’s advanced propulsion systems, the initiative addresses the complex challenge of transporting, assembling, and managing substantial SBSP infrastructure in orbit.
Space Solar plans to launch its first 30-megawatt SBSP platform within five years, and success hinges on the ability to control and maintain massive solar satellite structures. Magdrive’s propulsion solutions are poised to support upcoming demonstration missions by enabling essential orbital maneuvers, satellite assembly, and shape optimization.
“Innovation in propulsion is essential to making large-scale space infrastructure a reality,” said Sam Adlen, Co-CEO of Space Solar. “Space Solar and Magdrive share a vision of advancing sustainable space operations that benefit earth, and this collaboration will pave the way for new propulsion solutions that will be indispensable for space-based solar power and other large scale space infrastructure.”
This partnership is also set to strengthen the UK’s space sector by stimulating high-value job creation and technological advancement. It highlights the country’s dedication to leading innovation at the intersection of clean energy and aerospace.
As part of SPI3, both companies will collaborate on refining propulsion specifications tailored to SBSP systems and identify additional applications for these technologies within the broader context of UK-led space initiatives. The cooperation is a key step towards expanding the UK’s footprint in the global space economy and unlocking emerging opportunities in space-based energy markets.
“We’re excited to work with Space Solar, they’re building the future of space energy and infrastructure on a scale never seen before. By working together we’ll be propelling the space industry towards enabling sustainable life on earth. Here’s to the new space age!” said Mark Stokes, CEO, MagDrive.
United by a vision to deliver scalable energy solutions from space, Space Solar and Magdrive’s agreement represents a pivotal move toward the commercialization of SBSP. As Space Solar progresses toward critical mission milestones, incorporating Magdrive’s propulsion technology will bring the reality of space-derived clean energy closer than ever.
Related Links
-
Solar Energy3 years agoDLR testing the use of molten salt in a solar power plant in Portugal
-
TOP SCEINCE7 months agoSearching old stem cells that stay young forever
-
Camera1 year agoDJI Air 3 vs. Mini 4 Pro: which compact drone is best?
-
Indian Defense4 years ago
Israeli Radar Company Signs MoU To Cooperate With India’s Alpha Design Technologies
-
Camera1 year agoSony a9 III: what you need to know
-
world news5 months ago
Sirens trigger across central Israel following rocket barrage targeting Tel Aviv Iron Dome battery
-
world news5 months ago
Hezbollah’s gold mine catches fire: Nasrallah’s bunker under hospital held half billion dollars
-
world news1 year ago
Gulf, France aid Gaza, Russia evacuates citizens
