Grab and Sembcorp install solar panels at Sata CommHealth HQ to help charities reduce their carbon footprint

Singapore – To support Singapore’s plans to rely on the sun for 4% of its energy demand by 2030, Grab Singapore and Sembcorp Industries have teamed up to install free solar panels at Sata CommHealth’s headquarters.

The 182 solar panels were unveiled on Friday at the building of the charity medical organization in Bedok.

This donation is the first attempt to help nonprofits reduce their carbon footprint by harnessing the power of the sun.

According to Sata CommHealth Chairman Stanley Sia, the panel is expected to generate 10% of the company’s annual energy needs, with savings equivalent to the cost of flu vaccinations for 500 seniors.

he said: “(The solar panels) will power 560 four-room housing board flats and over the next 20 years he will be able to offset nearly one million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. We can do a lot more with

Sata CommHealth, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in August, provides services to help the elderly and needy fight heart, bone, chronic disease and most recently, Covid-19.

The panel is funded by Grab’s Green Program. The program has raised over $300,000 from customers who donate 10 cents for every transportation or GrabFood delivery order.

Sembcorp Industries will operate and maintain the panels free of charge for five years, said Valerie Lee, the company’s head of corporate affairs for Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Baey Yam Keng, senior parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Transport, attended the inauguration ceremony on Friday.

He said Singapore is particularly challenging climate mitigation actions due to limited land, manpower and alternative energy options, with solar energy being the most viable and promising renewable energy source.

Under the Singapore Green Plan, launched in 2021, the authorities aim to decarbonize the energy sector by quintuling solar installations to at least 2 gigawatts peak by 2030. . This equates to powering approximately 350,000 homes annually.

“But the government’s efforts are not enough to reach this goal,” Bayey said.

Managing the impacts of climate change requires partnerships between people, the private and public sectors, he added, citing initiatives by Grab and Sembcorp as examples.