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Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

Installation of Solar Panels

Check the guidelines for solar farms and ancillary solar installations.

Last updated 12 June 2026

Solar Farms

Solar farms involve the deployment of solar panels over vacant plots of land or waterbodies. 

URA's planning permission is not required (i.e. authorised) for solar farms that are proposed on land and waterbodies owned by the State and Statutory Boards. This includes the erection of any ancillary buildings on the site that are supporting the solar farm (e.g. substations and equipment sheds).

This is subject to the following conditions:

  1. Applicant has obtained prior consent from the landowner agency; 

  2. Compliance with planning parameters (e.g. allowable GFA) set out in the tender conditions or lease / tenancy agreement with the landowner agency; 

  3. Compliance with prevailing Development Control guidelines (e.g. building setback from site boundaries); 

  4. The validity of URA’s authorisation shall be pegged to the allowable tenure as set out in the lease / tenancy agreement / licence with the landowner agency. 

Ancillary Solar Installations

This involves the installation of solar panels to a larger development (e.g. on the rooftop of a building). Such installations do not require URA’s planning permission except in the following situations:

Urban Design and Conservation Areas

Areas subject to urban design guidelines and Conservation Areas1 shall require planning permission due to their impact on the roofscape.

For Conservation areas, installation of solar panels without any additional works are treated as localised works for the purpose of repair and maintenance and considered Category 3 works for Conserved Buildings.

1 You may check URA SPACE to find out if your development is located in these areas. 

Elevated solar panels located in selected land use zones

An elevated solar panel is one that is raised more than:

  1. 1m from the roof level for landed housing developments, or

  2. 1.8m from the roof level of other developments.

Elevated solar panels located in the following land use zones will require URA's planning permission:

  • Residential

  • Residential with Commercial at 1st Storey

  • Commercial & Residential

  • Commercial

  • Hotel

  • White

  • Residential / Institution

  • Commercial / Institution

  • Educational Institution

  • Place of Worship

  • Civic & Community Institution

Where spaces underneath solar panels are enclosed or put to other uses

The space underneath solar panels will not be counted as GFA, unless it is enclosed or put to other uses (e.g. commercial use, storage etc) – in such cases, URA’s planning permission will be required, regardless of the land use zone.

Storey Height Treatment

Elevated solar panels that require URA’s planning permission will not be considered an additional storey for height control purposes, if they comply with the following (illustrated in Figures 1 and 2):

  1. Extent: Kept within the 45-degree line measured from the springing line of the roof level

  2. Height: Maximum 5m from roof level (for non-landed developments), or maximum 1m above roof level (for landed housing)

Elevated panels not deemed as additional storey

Diagram showing rooftop structure height limited to 5m within a 45-degree roofline setback.

Figure 1: All developments (except landed housing developments)

Diagram showing rooftop structure height limited to 1m within a 45-degree roofline setback.

Figure 2: Landed housing developments