Renewable energy can meet about eight per cent of Singapore's power needs by 2025 even without government subsidies, based on a new white paper by industry experts launched on Friday.

The paper outlines the business case for using solar, biomass and biogas power, and sets out recommendations to make them more attractive. It was spearheaded by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore and some 60 companies contributed feedback over eight months.

The experts said the main obstacles are the lack of a pricing mechanism for people to sell renewable energy to the power grid, which would encourage more people to install such generators. Waste incineration fees also need to be raised and collection practices improved to convert more waste into energy, they said.

The paper will be shared with the Energy Market Authority, which came up with its own consultation paper in October covering some of the same topics. In 2010, a high-level government committee set up to chart Singapore's economic future said renewable energy should supply five per cent of the country's peak electricity demand by 2020.