Sunseap Group, a Singapore-based solar energy company, has announced that it signed a virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) with Facebook to supply around 100 MW of solar energy from over 1,200 rooftop installations across Singapore. The generated renewable energy will be utilized to support Facebook’s operations in Singapore, including its first custom-built data center in Asia.
A virtual power purchase agreement is a contract in which the power purchaser agrees to buy a project’s renewable energy at a pre-agreed price. The energy can be generated from a renewable energy project that is located away from a company’s premises but co-located on the same grid. In this case, Facebook will receive renewable energy credits from the electricity generated by rooftop systems installed on 1,200 public housing residential blocks and 49 government buildings across Singapore. The company stated that the project is expected to be completed in 2022.
The new agreement will help Facebook achieve its objective to support its operations in the region with 100 per cent renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent. Facebook has already reduced 59 per cent of operational greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 compared to 2017 levels, according to its recently released sustainability report.
“We believe VPPA is the way to go for enterprises as they accelerate efforts to add renewables to their energy mix. This is a game-changer in Asia’s drive to decarbonize and fight climate change. Furthermore, companies that are constrained by a lack of space to install solar panels or those that require geographic flexibility will find a virtual contract suitable for their needs,” said Lawrence Wu, President and Executive Director of Sunseap Group. Facebook has so far contracted over 5.4 GW of renewable energy to support its global operations, according to its press statement.
Sunseap has more than 300 MWp of solar energy projects contracted, 168 MWp of which have been completed on more than 1,500 buildings across Singapore, including commercial and residential buildings. According to Sunseap Group, it has installed, contracted, and developed renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 1.7 GW across the Asia Pacific region. The company also has a pipeline of projects in China, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and other parts of Southeast Asia.
Earlier this year, Sunseap Group raised SGD 100 million in Singapore dollars in its fourth round of fund-raising from Banpu, a publicly listed company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The funds were to be used to support the company’s projects and expansion across Asia. The local solar company in 2015 also inked a deal with Apple to power the US company’s operations in Singapore.
