For the next three years, the renewable energy created from the farm will be fed into the national grid.

On Thursday (Jan 23), Sembcorp Industries announced that a new 18 megawatt-peak ground-mount solar farm situated at PSA Singapore’s Keppel Terminal has started its operations.

This solar farm is a collaborative venture between Sembcorp Solar, a fully-owned subsidiary of the energy and urban solutions provider, and port operator PSA Singapore.

It's a short-term initiative with an operational duration of around three years. Sembcorp stated that during this time, the renewable energy produced by the solar farm will be directed to the national grid.

Constructed on 15 hectares of the existing yard area, the solar farm is equipped with 30,000 on-site solar panels. The company further explained that it is designed to be modular and adaptable, with a mobile transformer and hybrid substations. Alongside the solar panels, these components can be readily relocated to other locations.

Annually, the solar farm is projected to generate approximately 22,500 megawatt-hours of electricity. This amount of energy is sufficient to power over 5,000 four - room Housing and Development Board flats in Singapore for a year.

Jen Tan, the head of Sembcorp Industries' renewables business in Singapore and Indonesia, stated that the project is intended to help Singapore reach its solar energy goals and fulfill its renewable energy aspirations as the nation moves towards a low-carbon future.

Sembcorp holds an energy portfolio amounting to 25.9 gigawatts. This includes 16.5 gigawatts of gross renewable energy capacity from its owned assets, such as secured projects and those under construction, spread across 10 countries. Its urban development undertakings cover over 14,000 hectares throughout Asia.

As of 1:02 pm on Thursday, shares of Sembcorp were trading at S$5.60, a decrease of 0.2 per cent or S$0.01.