The Government has indicated it wants to quadruple the use of solar energy by 2025, as part of Singapore's Green Plan 2030.

An under-tapped area is for those living in landed homes to install solar panels on their rooftops.

Currently, the cost is prohibitive. It takes seven to eight years just to recover the installation cost of solar panels for landed homes. Reducing this long break-even period will surely encourage more to install solar panels.

Here are two suggestions.

One would be to provide some monetary incentive to encourage solar panel installation.

This can be in the form of a property tax rebate or some income tax relief.

Second, the price at which SP Group sells its electricity is much higher than the price at which it buys electricity from households generating solar energy for the grid.

This effectively means that "dirty" energy commands a premium value over "clean" energy, which is contrary to the Government's push for green energy.

This differential should be eliminated to reduce the break-even period for the cost of solar panel installation.

There is every reason in sunny Singapore to tap solar energy from as many rooftops as possible. This is a low-hanging fruit which the Government can harness and encourage.

Lek Lee Eng