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MINDEF/SAF Achieves 50-Megawatt Peak of Solar Deployment with the Completion of its First Solar Farm
30 January 2026
Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing, officiated the opening of MINDEF/SAF’s first solar farm at Sembawang Air Base (SBAB) today.
Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing, officiated the opening of MINDEF/SAF’s first solar farm at Sembawang Air Base (SBAB) today. This enhances operational resilience while also advancing MINDEF/SAF’s sustainability efforts.
The completion of the solar farm marked MINDEF/SAF’s successful achievement of 50-megawatt peak of solar deployment to date, contributing towards Singapore’s sustainability targets set out under the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
The solar farm currently features 13.5-megawatt peak solar photovoltaic (PV) systems which are strategically deployed on land within SBAB. Moving forward, MINDEF/SAF will also install another 4.5-megawatt peak solar PV systems on rooftops of buildings within SBAB by the end of 2026. With the completion of the rooftop-based deployment, the solar farm will comprise a total of 18-megawatt peak solar PV systems, which will generate energy equivalent to powering approximately 4,700 four-room HDB flats annually. This will substantially offset our energy demands, delivering potential cost savings of approximately $1.9 million a year.
During his visit, Mr Chan toured the solar farm sites and received briefings on the progress of other MINDEF/SAF’s sustainability initiatives, including the Smart Utilities Metering System, the automated Chinook wash shed, and innovative use of Eco-Asphalt for runway repair training. Mr Chan emphasised that energy resilience represents Singapore's next major national challenge, requiring both sustainable energy generation and careful demand management, while the SAF must also adapt its operations and training to climate change. He said, “Today’s project is also part of a larger national drive for us to strengthen our energy resilience.” He added that “it is also important for us to remember the larger issues that we have to confront, which is power management for an expanded SAF Order of Battle (ORBAT) that is more technologically dependent, and to evolve the way we prepare for operations and training, given the climate change implications.”
Beyond SBAB, MINDEF/SAF will also further install approximately 13.5-megawatt peak of solar PV systems across other SAF camps and bases by end-2027. This will bring the total solar deployment across all MINDEF/SAF facilities to about 68-megawatt peak.
Also present at the opening ceremony this morning were senior officials from MINDEF/SAF, Defence Science and Technology Agency, members from MINDEF/SAF’s External Advisory Panel for Environmental Sustainability, as well as members of the project committee.
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