ABB in Singapore looks to the sun to reduce carbon footprint

July 3, 2014

ABB in Singapore has taken a big step towards reducing its carbon footprint and becoming a more sustainable company with the recent commissioning of over 1,026 solar panels its Turbocharger, Motor and Generator Service plant in Tuas. The service facility previously relied exclusively on power from the grid, which is mostly generated from natural gas in Singapore.

The new solar installation at Tuas is part of a 25-year lease with Sunseap Leasing (Singapore's largest solar asset owner with 18MW of solar leasing project references) and incorporates an ABB central inverter at its core, the Power-One Aurora Plus. This is the first time a central inverter has been used in Singapore, and the Power-One inverter is unique in its modularity, allowing each module to function independently. Together with real-time power tracking and different roof orientations, this enables greater efficiency when harnessing solar energy.

The 1,026 panels are expected to generate a total energy output of 320kW, which results in an estimated 400,000 kWh or energy-savings a year. This is an amount that's sufficient to power 70 Singapore households for a year. It would also lead to an annual reduction in CO2 output by up to 200 tons. This move towards a greater reliance on solar energy is a positive one for ABB in Singapore, with a long term goal of utilizing solar power at all 5 Singapore offices.

"As a leader in power and automation technology, ABB has pioneered many technologies that have led to greater environmental efficiency in the region, and it is important that we develop a greater reliance on renewable energy moving forward," said Dorothy Tan, sub-regional HSE manager for ABB. "We hope to implement solar installations at all of our local offices and workshops over the next few years which will not only reduce our carbon footprint but save us a considerable amount of money too."

Haider Rashid, manager of ABB in Singapore, is happy that the company is becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly. "A few months ago, we began a campaign called ‘Doing the green thing', which encouraged employees to take responsibility in reducing our environmental impact. With a gradual shift to using energy from the sun, we can ensure that the company continues on the right path in a big way," Haider added.

Article published by: ABB