The market for solar energy is heating up worldwide, with more and more 
countries joining the Race to Zero, "a global campaign to rally leadership and 
support from businesses, cities, regions, [and] investors for a healthy, 
resilient, zero carbon recovery," to directly quote the United Nations. This is 
a concerted, global effort to fight against climate change. Singapore, a small 
and resource-scarce city-state, is no exception, and the island is now home to 
one of the world's largest offshore floating Photovoltaic (PV) farms, a 5 
MW-peak project that's been deployed in the Straits of Johor.

Developed by Sunseap Group, a solar energy solutions provider in Singapore, the 
five-hectare sea-based solar plant is equivalent in size to five soccer fields. 
With 13,312 solar panels, 40 inverters, and more than 30,000 floats, it's 
estimated to produce up to 6,022,500 kWh of energy per year, supplying enough 
power for 1250 four-room public housing flats on the island and offsetting an 
estimated 4258 tons of carbon dioxide.

Solar PV: A Natural Next Step for Singapore to Tackle Climate Change

In 2021, the Singapore government announced the Singapore Green Plan 2030. This 
nationwide initiative to advance Singapore's national agenda on sustainable 
development followed on from its announcement in 2020 that Singapore will aim 
to halve its peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vision is to achieve 
net-zero emissions by 2050, but this can only be reached if the nation 
significantly reduces its reliance on fossil fuels. Finding alternative methods 
to generate electricity is therefore essential, as natural gas is responsible 
for 97% of electricity generation in Singapore.

Restricted by its small size, Singapore lacks access to natural and renewable 
energy sources such as wind and hydroelectric power. However, located almost on 
the equator, Singapore draws a high average annual solar irradiance. Simply 
put, it gets a lot of sun. As such, one of the key targets under the Green Plan 
2030 is to quadruple solar energy deployment to 1.5 GW-peak by 2025, with 
further plans to reach 2 GW-peak by 2030.

However, for Singapore to achieve such ambitious goals and unlock the true 
potential of green solar PV, it must turn to state-of-the-art technologies.

Unfavorable Conditions Demand Reinforced Technology

Singapore's spatial constraints led Sunseap to look offshore, to the open seas, 
as a viable alternative for renewable energy, ultimately deploying the PV 
system in coastal waters. In doing so, Sunseap also achieved another milestone: 
constructing an undersea cable system connecting the floating platform to the 
mainland, creating a 22 KV electrical distribution network.

Unlike inland water bodies, the open sea is subject to a range of conditions 
and is prone to change, from fluctuations in temperature and rough swells to 
the corrosive nature of saltwater. Such unfavorable conditions, combined with 
the biofouling commonly found in warm tropical waters — where microorganisms, 
plants, algae, and small animals accumulate on surfaces — can potentially 
accelerate the degradation of PV system components, such as inverters.

By tapping into its expertise in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 
the cloud, Huawei introduces the latest Information and Communications 
Technology (ICT) into PV equipment to optimize power generation. Sunseap 
selected Huawei to supply its field-proven smart string inverters — Huawei 
SUN2000-90KTL-H2 — to make the floating solar farm more efficient, safer, and 
more reliable.

"We are honored to be selected by Sunseap, a Singapore solar energy solutions 
provider, to provide industry-leading solar inverters for one of the world's 
largest offshore floating-PV projects," said Bruce Li, Managing Director of the 
Huawei Asia-Pacific Enterprise Digital Power Business. "As an expert in 
integrating digital and power electronics technologies, Huawei is committed to 
helping people and industries worldwide benefit from clean solar energy with 
its innovative Smart PV solutions, accelerating the transition to renewable 
energy. We look forward to working closely with Sunseap and contributing to 
Singapore's Green Plan 2030."

Powering Singapore's "Green Plan" with Smart PV Solutions

Huawei inverters have already contributed toward generating gigawatts of 
electricity across utility solar power systems worldwide, demonstrating the 
company's ability to operate successfully at any scale and under any 
conditions. In addition, the inverters have undergone a series of tests for 
salt corrosion and heat dissipation, demonstrating their resilience to harsh 
environments and temperatures ranging from -55 degrees C to 80 degrees C. By 
deploying Huawei inverters, Sunseap has been able to streamline the Operations 
and Maintenance (O&M) process of the floating platform, as well as prevent rust 
and general material wear and tear.

Besides the performance benefits, a modular design ensures that deployment is 
fast and easy, with minimal adjustments required onsite. Such ease of 
deployment was another critical differentiator that led Sunseap to select 
Huawei as its technology partner. 

Shawn Tan, Vice President of Engineering at Sunseap, said: "The portability of 
Huawei's string inverters was a key feature as it allowed us to install the 
inverters directly onto the floating platform, next to the PV panels. This 
eliminated the need for a Direct Current (DC) cable hose and DC combiner boxes, 
reducing costs and deployment times. Owing to the unique design of the 
inverters, heat is dissipated more efficiently, increasing the overall 
reliability of the entire solar PV system."

By implementing Huawei's smart string inverters, Sunseap has also streamlined 
the O&M process and its engineers are now able to conveniently conduct daily 
routine checks remotely. Wilson Tsen, Manager of Business Development and 
Project Management at Sunseap, commented: "Thanks to Huawei's Smart PV Solution 
and its intelligent O&M platform, we are able to carry out routine inspection 
and servicing of the plant equipment, the floats, and the mooring lines with 
greater convenience and ease. Huawei's technology is simply a game-changer: not 
only can we diagnose plant issues remotely, but we can also troubleshoot 
without having to be physically onsite."

The completion of this project and the time it took to get the grid connected 
will hopefully serve as a blueprint for other land-scarce and densely populated 
countries in the region to roll out similar initiatives.

Frank Phuan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sunseap, remarked: 
"The Green Plan from the Singapore government is a strong commitment against 
climate change and the offshore floating 5 MW-peak plant that we have here is 
just a small step forward on the path to carbon neutrality. I hope, in the 
future, Sunseap and Huawei will continue to contribute to the clean energy 
landscape here in Singapore." 

Source: Huawei


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