SINGAPORE (July 9): CapitaLand will partner with Sembcorp Industries to install about 21,240 rooftop solar panels atop six CapitaLand properties by the end of this year, forming the largest combined rooftop solar facility in Singapore by a real estate company.
The solar farms aim to collectively generate over 10,000 megawatt hours of energy annually. This much energy is equivalent to powering about 2,300 four-room HDB flats a year.
As part of the partnership, Sembcorp will install, own and operate the rooftop solar panels with a combined capacity of approximately 8.1 megawatt-peak, atop CapitaLand buildings.
Held under CapitaLand’s business space and industrial REIT, Ascendas REIT, the six properties to install the solar panels are 1 Changi Business Park Avenue 1, 9 Changi South Street 3, 2 Senoko South Road, 40 Penjuru Lane, Techpoint and LogisTech.
With this, CapitaLand will be able to significantly lower its carbon footprint, avoiding over 4.3 million kg of carbon emissions annually. These efforts will also bring CapitaLand closer to its sustainability targets to generate about 20% of energy consumption from renewable energy for its enlarged portfolio by 2025.
In addition, CapitaLand will not incur installation cost, making this initiative a good business case for sustainability.
In another move to dovetail its sustainability efforts with its cost of funding, CapitaLand has signed new sustainability-linked loans with Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Natixis Bank and Societe Generale to raise a total of $300 million.
The group will then have the flexibility to use the loans on green projects such as the installation of solar panels, as well as for general corporate purposes.
The five-year multicurrency sustainability-linked loans will see interest rates reduced based on CapitaLand’s achievements of environmental, social and governance metrics.
Lynette Leong, chief sustainability officer for CapitaLand says, “Following CapitaLand’s recent integration with Ascendas-Singbridge, we can now leverage a wider network of properties to contribute meaningfully towards sustainability. We are also exploring the use of Renewable Energy Certificates resulting from the excess energy generated by the solar panels installed at the six properties to offset the carbon emissions from CapitaLand’s corporate operations at its Singapore headquarters in Capital Tower and Galaxis. We will further review opportunities within our enlarged global portfolio to deploy clean energy technologies to power our real estate operations.”
Koh Chiap Khiong, Head of Singapore, Southeast Asia & China (Energy) for Sembcorp says, "There is increasing demand for companies to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices. This creates more opportunities for us to provide our solar power solutions which not only help them save money, but also reduce their carbon footprint. We are delighted to have CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups, as our new solar power customer and for the confidence they have in us to deliver this project successfully."
Shares in CapitaLand last traded 1.08% lower at $3.68 on Monday, while shares in Sembcorp Industries last traded at $2.41.
