Largest floating solar system on Tengeh Reservoir can turn a cool area hot- large solar power plants increase local temperatures; Tengeh solar farm may in fact destroy one of Singapore's few natural air conditioners

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

CNA reported:

Construction has kicked off for one of the world's largest floating solar systems on Tengeh Reservoir, after a two-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's on track to be fully operational by mid-2021. This 60 megawatt-peak system will generate enough clean energy to power national water agency PUB's local water treatment plants. The aim is to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, cut emissions and build climate resilience. 

However, solar plants, especially ones of that size,  raise local temperature.  The phenomenon is explain in an article published in Scientific Reports: 

     While photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy production has surged, concerns remain about whether or not PV power plants induce a “heat island” (PVHI) effect, much like the increase in ambient temperatures relative to wildlands generates an Urban Heat Island effect in cities. Transitions to PV plants alter the way that incoming energy is reflected back to the atmosphere or absorbed, stored, and reradiated because PV plants change the albedo, vegetation, and structure of the terrain. Prior work on the PVHI has been mostly theoretical or based upon simulated models. Furthermore, past empirical work has been limited in scope to a single biome. Because there are still large uncertainties surrounding the potential for a PHVI effect, we examined the PVHI empirically with experiments that spanned three biomes. We found temperatures over a PV plant were regularly 3–4 °C warmer than wildlands at night, which is in direct contrast to other studies based on models that suggested that PV systems should decrease ambient temperatures. Deducing the underlying cause and scale of the PVHI effect and identifying mitigation strategies are key in supporting decision-making regarding PV development, particularly in semiarid landscapes, which are among the most likely for large-scale PV installations.

Singapore has few natural air conditioners. Tengeh is one of these; the solar farm could destroy it.That Singapore is "hot", and is so because of its building, is a matter that has been well understood for a long time. 

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