SEDA Malaysia: AUO Sunpower Site Visit

Hello everyone! We meet again for another blog post regarding SEDA Malaysia site visit to Melaka recently. I would like to write about a visit to AUO Sunpower Sdn. Bhd. on the 18^th of January 2014 with other bloggers and media representatives. Right after we left COOLTEK Home, we headed to Melaka World Solar Valley in Alor Gajah with 40 acres of land occupied by AUO Sunpower Sdn. Bhd. or better known as AUSP.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

The company is a world leader in solar cell manufacturing and it exports solar cells to regional offices and assembled as solar panels. We had a briefing session with Puan Roslawanis Husani to better understand how the company works in supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency effort in the country and worldwide.

Puan Roslawanis gave her briefing on how the company operates.

With 2,000 Malaysian workers at this solar cell manufacturing plant, AUSP strives to exceed customers’ expectations by delivering world class products and services at competitive prices through innovation, operational excellence and continual development. As most of you know, solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity and an individual photo-voltaic (PV) cells are grouped into panels that can be used in a wide range of application to generate its own energy. 

Dr. Wei-nee from SEDA Malaysia with the solar panels produced by AUO Sunpower

We use solar PVs because the sunlight is free, the process emits no noise, no harmful emission or polluting gases with PV systems are guaranteed to be safe and highly reliable with 20-25 years of warranty. Malaysia is blessed because we are situated near the equator and that means we have a better power generation and exposure to the sun. Many of us misunderstood that we cannot generate electricity on a cloudy day but AUSP representative claimed that we can still produce electricity but the amount would be slightly lower than in normal days.

Why do we need to shift from traditional energy generation from fossil fuels to renewable energy produced by solar panels? You must remember that diesel and petroleum used to generate the energy can be harmful to the environment and the price will be truly expensive once the resources are depleting. The importance of the renewable energy sector in Malaysia has been recognized since the Eight Malaysia Plan when the Five Fuel Policy was introduced in 2001 to include alternative sources of energy in our daily consumption. The development of renewable energy in Malaysia were a bit slow given the fact that it took so many years before it was actually implemented in the national level. In 2011, Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia is finally formed under the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011 [Act 726]. SEDA Malaysia becomes the implementer of the Feed-in Tariff program for the development of Renewable Energy in Malaysia.Now let us go back to the revolutionary solar cell technology development set up by AUSP in its local plant in Melaka.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

Solar cells are recognized not only as a mean for providing power but it also significantly diminishes the impact of environmental damage caused by conventional electricity generation in advanced industrial countries. A solar cell in an electrical device directly converts sunlight into electricity and this process requires a material in which the absorption of light raises an electron to a higher energy state and the movement of this higher energy electron from the solar cell into an external circuit. The basic steps in the operation of a solar cell are:

Source: www.auosunpower.com

-the generation of light-generated carriers,

-the collection of the light-generated carriers to generate a current,

-the generation of a large voltage across the P-region and N-region

-the dissipation of power in the load and in parasitic resistances.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

Solar cell products by AUSP are efficient because AUO SunPower’s all-back contact n-type solar cell design is patented, hard to replicate, and provides industry leading efficiencies of up to 22.5%. With its superior performance and aesthetics value, it can generate up to 50% more power in a uniformly black and attractive design. AUO SunPower cells deliver most energy and customers can benefit from lower electric bills, higher carbon emissions savings and a superior appearance. It offers efficiencies of approximately 22.5% or about 3.4 watts per cell in the world.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

    AUSP installed solar PV cells for Apple office in California to help back up i-cloud storage of Apple users around the world if the electricity shuts down unexpectedly in that area. Among its worldwide projects are Olivenza Solar Power Plant, Badajoz (18 mw), Serpa Power Plant, Serpa (11 mw), Bavaria Solar Park, Bavaria (10 mw) and Nevada, United States of America military air force base for security reasons. Such incredible journey paved by AUSP in the world level because the solar cells are made in Melaka by our local people; surely something to be proud of! And believe it or not, you have to wait for 2 years if you want to purchase the solar cells by AUSP because the company is now busy meeting the demands for 11 highly-developed countries. Amazing!

Source: www.auosunpower.com

You can apply for the Feed-in Tariff mechanism by SEDA Malaysia if you want to install solar panels on the rooftops of your house of commercial buildings. Let me review about the mechanism so that you can take part in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency effort because you can generate a handsome income by joining this program by SEDA Malaysia.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff system requires the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad and this year's addition of Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB) and NUR Distribution Sdn. Bhd (NUR) to buy from renewable energy producers the electricity produced from renewable resources by them. FiT rates are set by SEDA Malaysia with approval from KeTTHA to pay for the renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration. By having access to the grid and setting a favorable price per unit of renewable energy, the FiT mechanism also ensures that renewable energy becomes a viable and sound long-term investment for companies, industries and individuals. This can happen very easily if consumers are registered under SEDA Malaysia as one of the producers of renewable energy through solar panels, small hydro power, biomass and biogas at their homes or private lands.

Source: www.auosunpower.com

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 TNB’s electricity customers and domestic electricity consumers are obliged to contribute to the surcharge only 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 from renewable resources at homes or in industrial companies.

www.seda.gov.my

But as of January 2014, this surcharge 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 if you are interested in taking part. Thank you everyone for reading this and hopefully you gain insights about the roles played by SEDA Malaysia in promoting sustainable energy and energy efficiency effort in the country. Take care and God bless!

SEDA Malaysia: COOLTEK Home Field Trip

Source: www.cooltek.org

Stephanie Mary Bacon and her husband, the late Harry Boswell live in a cool house, COOLTEK Home Melaka. The house was designed to use air-conditioner continuously and it is therefore, a sealed building to prevent the loss of cooled air-conditioned air to the surrounding. It is a small, simple building with minimal decoration and unencumbered by elaborate pillars or many floor levels to ensure an energy efficient design. 

Stephanie enthusiastically shared to us about her cool house. 

The aim was to construct a maintainable home to be five times more efficient than a standard Malaysian house that also runs air-conditioner all day. Before I explain further about this green and sustainable home, I would like to share an interesting fact to every one of you here.

Do you believe that 20 houses just like COOLTEK will consume only the same amount of energy as ONE standard Malaysian house? Let me explain how the miracle happens as I and the other bloggers visited Stephanie at her efficient home for another SEDA Malaysia field trip. The energy efficiency design of this house has five main aspects; protection, orientation, insulation, ventilation and investigation.  Let us go into details of these aspects mentioned:

Protection: COOLTEK is built in a golf course location surrounded by many trees and greenery that help shade the building and surrounding. The white color roof reflects solar heat during the day and it also cools off quickly at night. Top quality foil below the roof is installed to minimize the heat from radiating down the building. And most importantly, the house is painted in white in order to reflect most of the solar heat, simple right?

Source: www.cooltek.org

  Orientation: COOLTEK is aligned at a 45 degree angle to the road so that the short and blind walls are facing EAST and WEST and the long, windowed walls faced SOUTH and North. That is why we need to choose our plot carefully so that we can stop the sun rays from entering the windows. The room will not be heated up and you do not need to use the air-conditioner extensively to cool off the house.

 

  Insulation: You must be aware that COOLTEK is built like a refrigerator and not an oven. The owner wants to keep the heat out of the house while cool air remains on the inside. By insulating the house properly, the owner can save money by stopping the cool air from escaping. This is done so by using load bearing walls free of heat conducting steel and concrete frame. The design also used aerated 250mm thick lightweight insulating block walls (79% of external vertical surface area) with 2mm thick adhesive to reduce the conduction of outside heat through the walls. Double-glazed, argon-filled non-opening windows are also used to reduce the ingress of outside heat to the rooms. It also helps to cut down noise and condensation.

Source: www.cooltek.org

  Ventilation: Air entering COOLTEK is cooled by passing through underground concrete chambers driven by the warm, stale air being expelled through a thermal chimney at the other end of the building. Ventilation from beneath the ground brings naturally cooled air into COOLTEK at no cost because fresh, jungle cooled and filtered air at a constant temperature around 26 degree Celcius is vented into the house at one end and warmer air is expelled at the other. The air enters the house through underground pipes and concrete chambers one meter below ground level. Hot air then is expelled through ceiling vents and then via thermal chimney at opposite end of the building.

Source: www.cooltek.org

Investigation: COOLTEK has its building materials and appliances chosen for their low energy efficiency rating. For example, highly efficient solar thermal water heater and solar photovoltaic panels have directly reduced the electricity consumption. None of the electrical appliances at the house are left on standby if unnecessary because it uses a huge amount of energy as well. The house also contributes to the Feed-in Tariff mechanism by SEDA Malaysia by selling the energy produced from the solar panels to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

Source: www.cooltek.org

The owner installed 4.8 kW peak photovoltaic arrays of solar panels on the roof in October 2007. The installation consists of forty 120Wp photovoltaic panels covering a total area of forty square meters and produces electricity that is fed to the Malaysian electricity distribution grid. The panels also conveniently add shading to the roof and cools down the house. The photovoltaic system is currently providing around 75% of the present COOLTEK power demand and that is why Stephanie is conveniently collecting the return of her investment.

 Due to much effort and contribution made by Stephanie and her late husband, Harry, COOLTEK HOME received ASEAN Renewable Energy Project Management Competition (First Runner Up) at the ASEAN Energy Awards 2009. You can contact Stephanie any time at cooltek.my@gmail.com if you want to know more about the green and sustainable building. COOLTEK Home is built at:

350 Jalan Woodland,

Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club,

Ayer Keroh,

75450 Melaka,

Malaysia.

The importance of the renewable energy sector in Malaysia has been recognized since the Eight Malaysia Plan when the Five Fuel Policy was introduced in 2001 to include alternative sources of energy in our daily consumption. The development of renewable energy in Malaysia were a bit slow given the fact that it took so many years before it was actually implemented in the national level. In 2011, Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia is finally formed under the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011 [Act 726]. SEDA Malaysia becomes the implementer of the Feed-in Tariff program for the development of Renewable Energy in Malaysia.

PV solar meter and the normal electricity meter by TNB

Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff system requires the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad and this year's addition of Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB) and NUR Distribution Sdn. Bhd. (NUR) to buy from renewable energy producers the electricity produced by them. FiT rates are set by SEDA Malaysia with approval from KeTTHA to pay for the renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration. By having access to the grid and setting a favorable price per unit of renewable energy, the FiT mechanism also ensures that renewable energy becomes a viable and sound long-term investment for companies industries and individuals. This can happen very easily if consumers are registered under SEDA Malaysia as one of the producers of renewable energy through solar panels, small hydro power, biomass and biogas at their homes or private lands.

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 obliged to contribute to the surcharge only 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 from renewable resources at homes or in industrial companies.

www.seda.gov.my

But as of January 2014, this surcharge 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. Thank you everyone for reading this and hopefully you gain insights about sustainable designs of COOLTEK Home and the roles played by SEDA Malaysia in promoting sustainable energy and energy efficiency effort in the country. Take care and God bless!

Acquire : A Lifestyle Showroom

 If you are around Kuala Lumpur, be sure to drop by Acquire at Bangsar Village II, a lifestyle showroom that represents emerging brands of eye wear, wristwatch, travel luggage, home ware products and furniture at a range of "affordable luxury". 

Acquire opened in July 2010 and originally it stocked mainly bags, luggage, watches, gadgets, eye wear and stationery. In October 2012, more space was obtained and the range extended to include home wares, occasional furnitures and colourful textiles made-ups like cushions.

    Acquire is owned by Azmi Merican and Chooi Hoong Foong, both used to manage a well-known interior and furnishing business in KL. After being absent for 10 years from the retail scene, they felt that there was a niche in the KL shopping scene for a shop like Acquire, hence the comeback.

    Acquire has a broad inventory of watches, bags, audio products, tableware, cushions and many others. Azmi Merican said that the store stocked items for male customers at first but he and Chooi Hoong Foong found a lot of female buyers showing interest in the products. That was when they had broaden the range to accommodate both male and female preferences in products and brands that are setting the trends.

    Among the brands available at Acquire are "MH Way", "Nava Design", "Danish Design Watches", "Nannini Eyewear" and "Serax". All of these brands are made exclusive only at Acquire since they are not yet available in other stores around Malaysia. The owner strive to seek innovative products that reflect new lifestyle trends and they add new collection or edit existing ranges in the showroom every year.

Watches

Bags

Eye wear

Cushions

Unique designs perfect for gift items

Home ware products

I am in love with this luggage!

Protective bag for laptop, secure!

Home decorative items

    The store's concept is to develop a curated collection of products that are used in our everyday life that is affordable and user-friendly. Shopping at Acquire is enjoyable as the shopper experiences a lot of fun in acquiring everyday products. The brands available at Acquire allow the shoppers to express their individuality rather than the status.

    Chooi Hoong Foong said that they do not aim to add new locations for the business for now but instead they want to focus on Acquire as a unique shopping experiences in the Klang Valley. 

Acquire is located at:

2F-23&25 Level 2,

Bangsar Village II,

Jalan Telawi 1, 

Bangsar Baru, 

59100 Kuala Lumpur. 

You can also contact them at: 

Email: acquireshop@gmail.com

Facebook Page: Acquire Shop

Instagram: ACQUIRESHOP

    The store is open daily from 10 AM to 10 PM and you can call 03-2287 1261 for more details. Remember, if you want to be unique and expressive, just acquire your preferences at Acquire! Take care and God bless :)