Sembcorp Industries has inked a 25-year deal to install, own and operate two new rooftop solar sites, including one in Tuas that will be the largest solar installation on a single rooftop in Singapore so far.

The Tuas site will boast more than 12,700 solar panels amounting to over 4.7MW peak.

Together, the two sites make up one of the largest solar farms in Singapore on premises owned by a single company, with a total capacity of 6.2MW peak, the company announced on the Singapore Exchange yesterday.

The two facilities where the solar panels will be installed belong to one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. Sembcorp did not disclose the name.

The solar farm will produce around 7,435MW hours of power annually, or enough to power more than 1,500 four-room HDB flats for a year. It will help power the on-site operations of the customer at the two locations, with surplus power channelled to the grid.

At the same time, the solar farm will help avoid over 3 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year, which is equivalent to taking close to 680 cars off the road.

The deal expands Sembcorp's solar portfolio to over 115MW peak of solar power assets in operation and under development here.

Sembcorp group president and chief executive Neil McGregor said: "Sembcorp is actively supporting Singapore in its goal of achieving 350MW peak of solar power capacity by 2020."

Sembcorp Industries, which released its earnings for the third fiscal quarter yesterday, posted an 11.6 per cent drop in net profit to $82.33 million, down from a restated $93.14 million in the year-ago period.

Its marine division swung to a net loss of $17.93 million for the third quarter, from a $60.41 million profit in the same period last year. However, turnover rose 60.2 per cent to $1.17 billion, mainly due to higher revenue recognition for rigs and floaters on the delivery of two jack-up rigs and revenue recognition for newly secured projects.

Utilities saw profit soar to $90.97 million for the third quarter from $27.49 million a year ago, on the back of a 26.7 per cent rise in turnover to $1.78 billion. Its India thermal power plant continued to contribute positively.

Overall, Sembcorp recorded turnover of $3.02 billion for the period, a rise of 36.3 per cent, while earnings per share dipped to 3.98 cents from 4.56 cents in the same period last year.