Solar modules to provide electricity to rural S’wak villages

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Ku (left) and Trinahome business head of Asia Pacific & Middle East Daphne Chee pose for a photo call.

KUALA LUMPUR: More and more remote villages and longhouses in Sarawak are expected to have access to reliable and affordable electricity through solar modules from the world’s leading provider of integrated solar systems, Trina Solar Ltd.

Its senior sales director for Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Ku Jun-Heong disclosed that Trina Solar started working together with local partners last year and its modules currently account for 5MW of off-grid solar energy capacity in Sarawak.

He said the company is encouraged by a recent statement made by Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Yeo Bee Yin that solar power will be among the solution since there are rural areas in Sarawak without access to electricity.

“The off-grid system is definitely the choice to provide electricity there. The initial phase is already completed, and a lot more is coming through in phases because Sarawak is large geographically to cover.

“We are working with local partners to deploy the systems in terms of installation and commissioning. Deployments in smaller scale, but there are many of them. Accumulatively, the total capacity is now 5MW.

“We learnt from our local partners that transportation is a challenge, because moving the hardware pieces and modules takes days from one location to another,” he told reporters at the launch of Trinahome solar system here yesterday.

Ku earlier in his presentation said solar modules are being installed in remote villages in Sarawak, mostly longhouses that indigenous communities live in.

He explained these communities previously had no electricity or were reliant on small diesel generators, but now have access to more reliable and affordable electricity thanks to solar.

He also highlighted Yeo’s recent speech which mentioned that electricity generated from diesel generators is about 40 per cent more expensive per kWh than electricity obtained from the grid.

Meanwhile, the event saw Trina Solar Ltd – also the world’s largest manufacturer of solar energy solutions – launch its Trinahome solar system into Malaysia.

He also said Trina Solar sees there is ample opportunity to increase renewable energy’s share of Malaysia’s energy mix, which can be achieved by adopting solar energy solutions such as Trinahome.

According to him, renewable energy accounts for two per cent of Malaysia’s energy mix, but the Malaysian government has set a target of 20 per cent by 2025.

As of 2017, Malaysia is ranked third in Asean for solar capacity with 362MW, behind first-placed Thailand (2,697MW) and second-placed Philippines (885MW).

The International Renewable Energy Agency hS stated the amount of solar energy capacity in Malaysia rose to 362MW in 2017 from 340MW in 2016, representing a year-on-year increase of six per cent.

“We attribute the increase to a growing appreciation for solar energy and positive government policies, such as feed-in tariffs and net energy metering,” Ku said.

“Considering Malaysia is near the equator and there is plenty of sunshine all year round, it makes sense that solar energy play an important role in Malaysia’s energy mix,” he added.

Ku said solar energy was well-positioned to help the government achieve its 2025 target of 20 per cent renewable energy.

“The cost of solar energy has reduced dramatically over the past 10 years and it is now affordable. This explains why we are now able to introduce solar energy systems to households and SMEs.”