SINGAPORE is committed to growing its nascent solar industry and is putting its money where its mouth is.

The Government is spending $68 million to test-bed solar projects and develop local skills in preparation for mass adoption when the technology becomes cheaper, said the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Thursday.

The EDB-led Clean Energy Programme Office (CEPO) on Thursday awarded the first five private sector projects under the S$20 million Solar Capability Scheme (SCS).

The projects to receive the Solar Pioneer Award include City Development's office building Tampines Grande, Lend Lease Retail's shopping complex 313@Somerset, Robert Bosch's regional headquarters building, Lonza Biologics' and Applied Materials' manufacturing facilities.

The test-bed projects were chosen based on innovation, design, effectiveness and skills development.

Some examples include the use of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs) which integrates solar panels into the facades of buildings, and the use of solar thermal air-conditioning systems.

These projects will create opportunities for local professionals such as system integrators, architects, engineers and developers, to hone their expertise in solar technology, said EDB.

The CEPO also announced on Thursday the second wave of public sector projects under its S$17 million Clean Energy Research and Test-bedding (CERT) programme.

These are Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Changi Airport budget terminal, National Environment Agency's Meteorological Station and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

With these new public and private sector projects, Singapore's total installed base of solar systems will increase from 200 kilowatts in 2008 to about five megawatts.

The data from these test-bedding projects will be captured by the newly launched National Solar Data Repository, which is jointly set up by Singapore Polytechnic and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS).

The two organisations will analyse the data gathered to help proliferate best practices and know-how in system installation and integration in the Singapore environment.

These projects complement the Housing Board's (HDB) S$31 million solar test-bedding project which aims to fit solar panels in 30 HDB eco-precincts by 2015. Together with SCS and CERT, the total commitment of the government towards solar test-bedding is S$68 million.