A new aircraft hangar at Changi Air Base (East) will produce 30 per cent more electricity than it uses, as part of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) drive to help meet national targets in tackling climate change.

This is possible through the use of solar panels installed on the hangar's rooftop, as well as reducing energy and water consumption with features to maximise natural ventilation and harvest rainwater.

The hangar for the Republic of Singapore Air Force's A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), which took two years to build and will be completed later this month, is the SAF's first net positive energy building.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday said the SAF plans to install solar panels on buildings in 12 other camps, which would generate enough electricity to power 5,500 four-room Housing Board flats, and net about $1.6 million in cost savings a year.

In addition, the Ministry of Defence has commissioned net zero energy buildings - the Ordnance Engineering School building in Kranji Camp III and the Headquarters Army Combat Engineers Group building in Seletar Camp - which are fully solar powered.

The green features in these two buildings and the MRTT hangar, and the installation of solar panels in SAF camps, are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11,400 tonnes by March next year.

Dr Ng said the SAF will also replace 400 administrative vehicles - first with hybrid models that will reduce emissions by up to two-thirds per vehicle, and later with electric ones when the country's charging infrastructure is built.

In another effort, a joint collaboration between the SAF, National Environment Agency and Defence Science and Technology Agency resulted in a waste management system to turn recycled food waste into energy.

Food waste collected from eight cookhouses currently is processed by microbes and enzymes at recycling plants to generate biogas. This will be expanded to 10 more cookhouses, and to all cookhouses if successful, Dr Ng said during the debate on his ministry's budget.

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To counter the effects of rising sea levels, Mindef is working with agencies like the HDB on Singapore's first polder development at Pulau Tekong, which was first announced in 2016.

The polder comprises a dike which protects reclaimed land from the sea, and a network of drains and pumps to keep the land dry. The reclaimed land can be used for army training, Dr Ng said.

Asked for more details on the reclaimed land's purpose, Mindef said the SAF will require more land for manoeuvre training within Singapore, and aims to turn the initiative into a "viable training area".

As for the MRTT hangar, the solar panels installed on its rooftop generate 1,225,000 kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity a year, which is enough to power 273 four-room HDB flats. The hangar measures 85m by 90m, with a height of around 35m.

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Rainwater is harvested and recycled for washing, the flushing of toilets, and irrigation of the hangar's green roof, which uses carpet grass to act as an insulation layer to prevent heat build-up.

The building is also positioned in a north-south orientation, in line with the predominant wind direction to optimise air flow for natural ventilation. In addition, LED lighting and air-conditioning used are also energy efficient.

With these, the hangar is expected to use about 900,000kWh of electricity a year. The additional electricity generated will be used to supplement other energy demands within the air base.