ACCELERATING RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS

The adoption of renewable energy is integral in the design and construction of our projects. In addition to the installation of PV panels at selected investment buildings since the early 2000s, we also started to progressively participate in the emerging RECs marketplace since 2017. In 2018, CDL was the first Singapore developer to purchase RECs using SP Group’s blockchain-enabled platform. By procuring locally-sourced RECs, CDL attributed 100% of the electricity consumed by our headquarters’ operations and part of our commercial buildings’ operations in 2020 to renewable sources. This offset 1,184 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2020, equivalent to powering over 611 typical 4-room HDB flats for one year.

Collaborations with SERIS

Since 2017, CDL has supported and partnered the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) to pilot two projects – Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) modules and bifacial BIPV art wall. In 2021, these projects were installed at Central Mall and City Square Mall respectively. Data is being collected and evaluated to provide insights into potential scaling-up at existing CDL assets and new developments.

Cost-effective high-power density BIPV module at Central Mall

Benefits of BIPV Modules

  • Improves indoor thermal and visual comfort as well as electrical performance
  • Offers a cost-effective high-power density solution
  • Easily integrates into buildings
  • Combines with prefabrication technology (i.e. Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC)) to greatly reduce the cost of BIPV integration and improve construction productivity since it is applied modularly at a construction site

The pilot for BIPV modules will continue till December 2022. Current results show that BIPV integration with different building elements is feasible and can lead to significant generation of PV electricity. The two-year pilot will conclude with additional data on thermal comfort effectiveness as well.

First-of-its-kind bifacial BIPV panels piloted at City Square Mall

Benefits of Bifacial BIPV panels

  • Customisable aesthetic feature
  • Power generator

Data of the performance of these bifacial BIPV panels has been collected for analysis to explore opportunities for scaled up implementation.