Sembcorp Industries yesterday announced a 20-year solar energy deal with Facebook to provide locally sourced renewable power to support Facebook's recently-announced 170,000 sq m Singapore data centre, as well as its other Singapore operations.

With this deal, Sembcorp has become Facebook's first renewable energy partner in Asia.

The contract involves the sale of 100 per cent renewable energy from the surplus power generated by offsite solar panels totalling 50 MWp in capacity.

These panels will be installed on close to 900 rooftops in the land-scarce island-state, between the end of this year and 2020.

Mr Koh Chiap Khiong, head of Sembcorp's energy business in Singapore, South-east Asia and China, said: "This demonstrates our ability to offer clients a strong value proposition to support their power needs and meet their environmental goals at the same time."

Mr Bobby Hollis, head of global energy at Facebook, also welcomed the deal.

"This agreement represents our first step towards supporting our Singapore Data Centre and local offices with 100 per cent renewable energy," he said.

Sembcorp has been steadily growing its renewable energy business, and now has over 2,500 megawatts of wind and solar power projects across Singapore, China and India.

Earlier this year, the company announced targets to double its renewables portfolio and reduce its carbon intensity by around 25 per cent by 2022.

The contract, for an undisclosed sum, is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings per share and net asset value of Sembcorp Industries for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018.