Microsoft will purchase 100% of the solar energy exported to the Singapore grid from EDP Renewables’ (EDPR) SolarNova 8 project. The project consists of installing up to 200 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar capacity via panels atop 1,075 public housing buildings and 101 government-owned buildings in Singapore.
EDPR was awarded Phase 8 of the SolarNova programme in February. The project is both the largest solar project in Singapore and the largest initiative under the government’s SolarNova programme.
According to an Aug 27 announcement, EDPR and Microsoft have signed a 20-year offtake agreement. This is the second agreement signed between both companies in Singapore; Microsoft announced in 2018 an agreement to purchase 100% of a similar 60MWp project by Sunseap Group (now EDP Renewables APAC), which marked Microsoft’s first clean energy deal in Asia.
EDPR APAC was formerly known as Sunseap before it was acquired by the Spanish renewable energy firm in 2022.
Launched in 2014, the SolarNova Programme is led by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Housing Development Board (HDB) to accelerate the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Singapore.
Under the SolarNova programme, HDB aggregates public sector demand for the installation of solar panels across HDB blocks and government sites.
Having surpassed its earlier solar target of 220MWp by 2020, HDB announced in 2019 a new solar target of 540MWp by 2030. The new target could potentially generate 648 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy annually, contributing towards the national solar targets of 1.5 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2025, and 2GWp by 2030, as set out under the Singapore Green Plan.
Miguel Stilwell D’Andrade, CEO of EDP Renewables, says: “We are strengthening EDP’s global collaboration with Microsoft through this project and together we are taking a step towards achieving Singapore’s sustainability goals of at least 2GWp of solar energy by 2030. Contracting with Microsoft is a catalyst for accelerating the energy transition and to continue investing in the region.”
Adrian Anderson, general manager, renewables, carbon free energy at Microsoft, says: “Microsoft appreciates the global relationship that we’ve built with EDPR, enabling our companies to drive grid decarbonisation efforts in Singapore, the US and Europe. Building our renewable energy portfolio with EDPR ensures that we can continue to secure renewable energy supply to meet Microsoft's ambitious renewable energy and decarbonisation goals.”
