Sembcorp has signed a 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA) with social media giant Facebook to supply solar electricity to power its Singapore operations.
Image: Sembcorp to supply solar energy to power Facebook operations in Singapore. Photo: Courtesy of worradmu/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Sembcorp will provide solar power for Facebook through its offsite solar panels totaling 50MW in capacity. These panels will be installed on nearly 900 rooftops in the land-scarce island state, between the end of this year and 2020.
Facebook will use the electricity to power its newly announced a 170,000m2 data center in Singapore along with its other Singapore operations.
As part of the contract, 100% of the power generated from the solar panels will be sold to Facebook. The sale is expected to commence with the installation of rooftop solar panels between end-2018 and 2020.
Sembcorp Singapore, Southeast Asia and China energy business Head Koh Chiap Khiong said: “At Sembcorp, our goal is to provide energy that makes a difference. One key way is through providing clean energy to companies and our community. Against this background, Sembcorp is very honoured to become Facebook’s first renewable energy partner in Asia, with our new 20-year solar power deal.
“This demonstrates our ability to offer clients a strong value proposition to support their power needs and meet their environmental goals at the same time. We look forward to working with more companies for such solutions in the future.”
Currently, Sembcorp has more than 2,500MW of wind and solar power projects across Singapore, China and India. Earlier this year, the firm had set ambitious targets to double its renewables portfolio and reduce its carbon intensity by around 25% by 2022.
Facebook global energy head Bobby Hollis said: “This agreement represents our first step towards supporting our Singapore Data Center and local offices with 100% renewable energy.
“We are thrilled to have Sembcorp as our partner on this project and excited to see the continued acceleration in the growth of the renewable energy market in Singapore.”
In August, Facebook has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with EDP Renewables (EDPR), to power its operations from Headwaters II Wind Farm in Randolph County, Indiana.