Innovations on Singapore's HDB rooftops

Yuhua Agritech Solar (YAS) Living Lab

"Beyond the innovations in hydroponics, solar panels, and green house technology, the most exciting part of our YAS lab is witnessing how the simultaneous application of all three technologies boosts our ability to produce more crops, better crops, with enhanced resource utilisation."

-Professor Ang Hak Seng,
Chairman of YAS Living Lab, and Professor of Social Entrepreneurship (SUSS)

Can leafy greens and fish be grown with renewable energy on a HDB carpark rooftop? The Yuhua Agritech Solar (YAS) Living Lab located at the rooftop carpark of Block 354 Jurong East Avenue 1 is home to all of that, and is among Singapore's first rooftop projects that link renewable energy and urban farming.

The creative way of optimising space, sunlight, and humidity to generate new food sources on a rooftop is a testament to how innovation can help Singapore achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Launched in November 2023 and funded by the SG Eco Fund, the YAS Living Lab is a site for research institutes, companies and heartlanders to try out different farming techniques and crop varieties on a three-year basis.

Amongst the eight innovations selected for test-bedding at YAS Living Lab is one by Project Shine, which is run by Otolith Enrichment – an education company for aquaculture, agriculture, and environmental science – and its partners. Project Shine is growing muskmelons using solar energy and rearing freshwater prawns with the help of black soldier flies in managing waste. The flies feed on food waste and used coffee grounds from the Yuhua community, composting the waste into suitable fertiliser for the muskmelons, and in turn the fly larvae are also used to feed the prawns, forming a self-sustaining set-up.

Another innovation is run by the National University of Singapore and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) with agritech partners, where solar panels rotate like a window flap to capture the maximum amount of sunlight, while leafy greens such as lettuce and chye sim are grown in either tiered shelves or in vertical towers. These towers are then linked to a tilapia tank to form an aquaponic system.

All the innovative projects on the rooftop are constantly being iterated for greater efficiency and effectiveness. The aim is to nurture more such innovations to utilise Singapore’s urban spaces creatively and effectively for better, more sustainable solutions.