Instead of subsidies, Singapore has taken proactive steps to introduce regulatory enhancements to facilitate the entry of renewable energy when such technologies become commercially viable. The Government’s support for renewables also comes in the form of funding for Research & Development to develop capabilities within the industry

Importantly, the support for research and development of renewable energy technologies is available e.g. Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC) has been established. The facilities allow studies on performance of conventional and renewable technologies in the mini-grid.

Singapore offers a range of favourable tax incentives to all industry sectors, including the renewable energy industry. The Singapore Productivity & Innovation Credit offers tax deduction/allowance and cash payout to encourage research and development in green innovation. It provides 400% tax deduction on the first SGD 400,000 of qualifying R&D expenditure for each year of assessment, and 150% on expenditure in excess of SGD 400,000. From 2013, the businesses are allowed to convert up to SGD 100,00 of the qualifying expenditure into a non-taxable cash payout at the rate of 60%.

In May 2008, the Singapore Economic Development Board launched the SGD 20-million Solar Capability Scheme to help companies with installing solar systems in new private commercial and industrial buildings. The eligible buildings must be certified with minimum Green Mark Gold Plus rating by the Building Construction Authority (BCA) and the minimum solar system installed should be 150 kWp. The solar project developers can obtain financial up to 40% of the project cost, capped at SGD 1 million per project.