On
7th December 2013, bloggers were invited by SEDA Malaysia to join a
truly interesting field trip to Fortune 11 solar farm in Sepang, Selangor. The
solar project is owned and developed by Fortune 11 Sdn. Bhd. and it is regarded
as Malaysia’s first solar farm with single-axis system. The project prime
contractor is SunEdison (MALAYSIA) Solar Engineering Sdn. Bhd. and it is a 5
MWp Single Axis tracker project in an area of 36 acres in an oil palm plantation
under lease from Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn. Bhd. The project area is in
the Sepang district of Selangor state in Malaysia under the Feed-in Tariff
(FiT) scheme.
At
this solar farm, solar photovoltaic (PV) modules are mounted on a tracker
system that tracks the movement of the sun from sunrise to sunset. This
tracking system can help maximise the generation of energy from the solar cells
throughout the day as compared to the static solar PVs. For your information,
photovoltaic (PV) literally means “light” and “electric”. Photovoltaic
technologies are used to generate solar electricity by using solar cells
packaged in photovoltaic modules. The most important components of a PV cell
are the two layers of semiconductor material. When sunlight strikes the PV
cells, the solar energy excites electrons that generate an electric voltage and
current. Extremely thin wires running along the top layer of the PV cell carry
these electrons to an electrical circuit.
A
photovoltaic module is made of an assembly of solar cells wired in
series to produce a desired voltage and current. The PV cells are encapsulated
within glass and/or plastic to provide protection from the weather. PV modules
are connected together to form an array and it is connected to an inverter
which converts the Direct Current (DC) of the PV modules to Alternating Current
(AC). As mentioned earlier, a solar tracker is fixed at a specific angle and
moves from east to west as the sun moves across the sky during the day. The
solar panel mounted onto such tracker will get maximum amount of sunlight and
it will be able to generate a higher amount of energy.
Since
the sun’s position in the sky varies with the season as well, it is possible to
design a solar tracker to adjust the angle throughout the year so that solar
light is always perpendicular to the surface. The area of shadow as the sun
moves through the seasons will necessitate each tracker to be located farther
apart so that the total land area required to install 1 MWp is much larger than
of the fixed mount or single axis tracker. To keep it simple, imagine the solar
panels moves according to the sun movement everyday in order to collect as much
energy to be converted to electricity.
SunEdison
uses many types of solar panels and the company selects the right technologies
that provide most reliability and value. The “technology neutral” approach by
SunEdison meets its’ customers’ financial, power production and facility needs
because the tracker system harvests more energy than the fixed tilt project.
Besides, SunEdison employs more than 100 workers during construction and about
20 direct employments during operations and maintenance stage. In addition, the
company generates about 7615 MWhr of green energy annually with CO2 emission
saving of about 5254350 kg per year. That amount is a lot and totally
benefiting the community and our country in the long run. The location of the
project in Sepang Selangor is also significant because the solar panels can be seen
from the sky if you are in an airplane. This gives a message to visitors that
Malaysia is moving towards green energy and therefore prepared to shift towards
a better future.
SEDA Malaysia is fact the implementer of the Feed-in Tariff program for development of Renewable
Energy in Malaysia. To understand the contribution of solar panels in
generating alternative electricity, you must also recognize the role of SEDA
Malaysia in implementing the Feed-in Tariff mechanism. Malaysia's Feed-in Tariff (FiT) system obligates
the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad to buy from
renewable energy producers the electricity produced from renewable resources
(renewable energy). SEDA Malaysia also sets the FiT rates with approval from KeTTHA. Under the law the DLs will pay for
renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration. By
guaranteeing access to the grid and setting a favourable price per unit of
renewable energy, the FiT mechanism would ensure that renewable energy becomes
a viable and sound long-term investment for company industries and also for
individuals.
The
Cabinet has also agreed for the 1% surcharge on consumers’ electricity bills
that has been gazetted and collected from consumers. This 1% surcharge is
needed to achieve the target capacity of renewable energy in the long run. As
of 2013, 1% surcharge is still imposed on all electricity customers and domestic electricity consumers are only obliged to contribute if their monthly
electricity consumption exceeds 300 kWh or RM 77 a month. This money is
channelled into the Renewable Energy Fund and administered by SEDA Malaysia to
pay the premium Feed-in Tariff rate to those producers who generate electricity
at homes or in industrial companies. But as of January 2014, this tariff will
increase by 0.6% to be 1.6 % for current electricity users. This increase will
also affect the consumers in Sabah and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan as they are charged with 1.6% of their
electricity bills for the first time. Please refer to www.seda.gov.my
for more news and information.
Alright,
that is all for today. I will continue my blog post about another field trip by
SEDA Malaysia to the MPOB Palm Oil Mill Technology Center (POMTEC) in Labu
Negeri Sembilan. I will provide another explanation about the role of biomass
and biogas in producing alternative electricity and how it is done by a
corporate sector. Take care and God bless, and use energy efficiently!
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