Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) and Cache Logistics Trust (Cache) are pleased to announce the signing of a solar power agreement for the installation and operation of rooftop solar farms at three logistics warehouses in Singapore owned by Cache. Sembcorp is a trusted global integrated energy player and solar power company, while Cache invests in quality income-producing logistics real estate assets.
Under the arrangement, Sembcorp will install, own and operate rooftop solar panels with a combined capacity of approximately 7.9 megawatts peak, atop Cache's Commodity Hub, Pandan Logistics Hub and Cache Changi Districentre 1. These solar panels will provide renewable energy and significantly lower the carbon footprint for Cache. Any surplus solar power generated will be channelled to the grid. When completed, Commodity Hub will house Singapore's largest rooftop solar facility to date, representing some 6.2 megawatts in peak capacity.
When fully installed in mid-2019, the system is expected to produce over 9,400 megawatt hours of power annually, or enough renewable energy to power more than 2,000 four-room HDB flats in a single year2. The energy-efficient project is a green model which significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions. It will also help avoid close to four million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. This is equivalent to emissions avoided from taking almost 860 cars off the road or planting more than 47,000 trees.
Koh Chiap Khiong, Head of Singapore, Southeast Asia & China (Energy), Sembcorp, said, "Sembcorp is committed to sustainability. Our aim is to do good and do well, providing energy that makes a difference to our customers, community and the planet. We are honoured that companies trust us as one of Singapore's largest solar power players, and are pleased to partner with Cache and welcome them as our new solar power customer. This new project will not only grow Sembcorp's solar portfolio in Singapore with the installation of over 20,000 solar panels, but also help Cache reduce its carbon footprint. It will also generate renewable energy for the grid and avoid over four million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide, supporting Singapore's environmental goals and helping to meet the nation's target of 350 megawatts peak solar power capacity by 2020."
Daniel Cerf, CEO of ARA Trust Management (Cache) Limited, the manager of Cache Logistics Trust, said, "Cache is committed to integrating ESG principles into its business strategies and operations to achieve sustainable growth. We are pleased to undertake this green project with Sembcorp which brings about the benefits of not only using under-utilized rooftop space in our warehouses to lessen our conventional energy consumption and operating costs but more importantly, to reduce our carbon footprint. We will continue to review other properties within our portfolio to implement similar energy efficient initiatives in the interest of achieving greater environmental sustainability."
The signing of this agreement is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings or the net asset value per unit or per share of Cache or Sembcorp for the financial year ending December 31, 2019.
1 CO2 emissions avoided is calculated based on EMA's latest grid emission factor
2 Average annual consumption of a four-room HDB household is based on EMA's 2018 Singapore Energy Statistics
