How Does Haze Affect Solar Panels in Singapore? Eigen Energy on CNA
Haze can cut rooftop solar output by up to about 20% on the worst days, Eigen Energy's head of operations Koldo Gutierrez told CNA.
SINGAPORE — Haze can reduce the output of rooftop solar panels by up to about 20% on the worst days, Eigen Energy’s head of operations told CNA, as Singapore recorded its longest stretch of unhealthy air since 2015.
In an interview filmed at a residential solar installation, Koldo Gutierrez explained that fine smoke particles scatter and absorb sunlight before it reaches the panels. Losses are larger when the Pollutant Standards Index rises above 200, as it did in western Singapore this month.
He also pointed to a longer lasting effect. Rain usually washes haze particles off tilted panels, but drier El Niño conditions this year mean the particles stay on longer and can keep reducing output after the air clears.
The findings are consistent with research by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, which measured output losses of 15% to 25% across 10 local systems during the 2013 haze.
Video courtesy of Channel NewsAsia (CNA), first published on 21 October 2026.Watch the original coverage on CNA