Singapore-based energy company Sunseap Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Badan Pengusahaan Batam (BP Batam) to build a floating photovoltaic system (FPV) and energy storage system (ESS) in Indonesia.
The project is expected to involve an investment of almost $2bn and will be financed through a combination of bank borrowings and internal resources.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Under the MoU, Sunseap will build a 2.2GW FPV and an ESS with more than 4000MWh of capacity on the Duriangkang Reservoir in the south of Batam Island.
Sunseap claims that the facilities, covering a 1600ha water surface area, will be the largest of their kinds in the world once completed.
The Duriangkang Reservoir, which supplies more than 50% of Batam Island’s freshwater supply, will benefit from the floating solar panels as they will reduce water evaporation, thereby retaining more water within the reservoir.
The water will also allow the solar panel to generate more clean energy by keeping it cool.
Sunseap co-founder and CEO Frank Phuan said: “This hyperscale project is a significant milestone for Sunseap, coming soon after we had completed Singapore’s first offshore floating solar farm along the Straits of Johor.
“We believe that floating solar systems will go a long way to address the land constraints that urbanised parts of Southeast Asia face in tapping renewable energy.”
Sunseap anticipates that the floating solar facility would generate more than 2,600GWh of clean electricity a year and have the potential to offset more than 1.8 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions.
It also plans to set up a Sunseap Academy in Batam, where more than 3,000 locals would be hired and given skill training to be part of the projects.
Construction works at the site are expected to begin next year and are scheduled to be completed in 2024.
