Land is scarce in Hong Kong, but there are plenty of “underutilised” areas. Converting closed landfills into solar farms is becoming increasingly popular around the world. We still have three big operating landfills and, although the prevalent practice here has been to restore landfills to grass and woodland, or sports facilities, two of our landfills are too far away to make them ideal for sports facilities. The total area of the three landfills is about 260 hectares, equivalent to 20 Kowloon Parks, of which most of the restored land is slopes, and thus not suitable for sports facilities. Instead, we should convert this underutilised land into solar farms. The slopes could house over 200 megawatts of solar panels, enough to power 10,000 electric vehicles.

Japan, meanwhile, is building a solar farm on water, covering the Yamakura Dam reservoir (around 18 hectares) with 50,000 solar panels, generating 13.7MW of power when complete. Singapore is considering doing the same. We have two huge reservoirs which could house large floating solar farms. If we look hard enough, we can always find places for solar installations.

Yet, even if we have a solar policy, we are still stuck. All our closed landfills are not intended for solar installations, and to do so would require the district council to change the use of these sites. The reservoirs are run by the Water Supplies Department, which has little or no incentive to harness the sun’s energy. Village houses belong to individual owners, but the Buildings Department forbids installations on the rooftops of all buildings. The Electrical & Mechanical Services Department carried out a study on the potential application of renewable energy from 2000-2004, but little was done because it is not a policy bureau. Our government and the people are locked in by existing rules and regulations.

One needs a “can-do” spirit to make things happen. We need Elon Musk’s attitude to make the impossible possible. Solar energy is becoming more affordable. Nobody expected Tesla to sell so well in Hong Kong, not even Musk.

A solar energy project would bring new hope and opportunities. It would provide a stimulus to creating high value-added green industries (solar energy, energy storage and management, green transport), providing new jobs for our youth and making full use of our underutilised land. Electric vehicles would reduce air pollution. Turning a neighbouring landfill into a green energy park would bring pride back to a community, and eventually higher property values.

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So, how can we make this happen? The existing scheme of control agreement between the utility companies and the government will expire in 2018 and is under review. It provides a 9.99 per cent permitted rate of return on average net fixed assets other than for renewable energy fixed assets, for which the permitted return is 11 per cent. Thus, if the utility companies were to invest in renewable energy, they would be able to set higher tariffs. Instead, the government should consider allowing third-party renewable electricity generators to supply to the grid.

A power plant performs best when loading is constant throughout the day. But there are peaks and troughs every day, as well as seasonal changes. In the troughs, the turbine is generating more electricity than needed; at peak times, it struggles to meet demand. Small turbines are used to supply additional power to meet the surges. Under the existing scheme of control, investing in new turbines to meet demand surges is a gift to the utility companies. But in fact, surplus energy in the troughs can be stored and discharged during peak periods, reducing the need for booster turbines.

Solar farms, combined with the latest battery storage systems, are becoming very popular for such “demand shift” applications. The cost of battery storage is decreasing rapidly, and will become very affordable shortly. Metering and power purchase agreements between independent renewable energy generators and the utilities could encourage more solar power investments, reducing peak demand and therefore the need for new turbines.

It is true that the previous administration did little in its eight years, passing on many problems to the current administration. But, in the past three years, the Environment Bureau has been underperforming. Let’s be clear: it is the bureau’s job to drive renewable energy initiatives, and it should break down departmental barriers to make things happen. Let’s not waste two years writing policy papers, an additional two years on consultations, three years to collect proposals, and another three to get something done.

Dr Sunny Cheng is an environmental consultant and Dr William Chung is an associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong