Penang Development Corp to turn solar energy into a core business
03 Aug 2023
Penang Development Corp (PDC), an agency under the state government, plans to grow its presence in the renewable energy (RE) sector, particularly solar energy, and turn it into one of its core businesses in the future.
Chief executive officer Datuk Aziz Bakar said this initiative is in line with the state’s aspiration to transform into a green economy as well as the country’s effort to ensure that RE accounts for 70% of the country’s electricity generation by 2050.
“We expect investments in RE to be ramped up exponentially and we believe Penang has an exciting and major part to play, being home to multiple multinational corporations in the manufacturing sector.
“PDC is committed to doing its part in helping others embark on the RE journey, thereby expediting Malaysia’s transition towards a net zero future,” he told reporters at the launch of the PDC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System here on Thursday (Aug 3), which was also attended by caretaker Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said for its first solar energy project, PDC collaborated with Solarvest Holdings Bhd, which is responsible for consultation, design and engineering, procurement, project management and construction.
The solar PV system has been installed at Marelli Automotive Lighting Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s factory in Batu Kawan, with PDC investing RM12 million.
Aziz said they signed a power purchase agreement with Marelli Automotive Lighting Malaysia, an automotive component manufacturer from Italy, in February 2023, and construction began the following month.
Following the completion of the project, PDC will continue to own, operate and maintain this solar PV system with a capacity of 3,149.56 kW on behalf of Marelli.
“PDC and Marelli are long-term partners since 2013 as it is leasing the land and building from PDC for 20 years commencing 2013. PDC will provide exceptional solar system solutions through our subsidiary company, Solar Voltech Sdn Bhd.
“In the immediate future, we have two more projects with Solarvest to install this solar PV system at other factories in Penang,” he added.
The solar power system was developed under Solarvest’s solar financing programme, Powervest, which enables businesses to adopt clean energy with zero initial capital outlay.
The system is anticipated to generate 4.4 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, enabling Marelli to offset 2,410 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum and achieve about 20%-30% in electricity bill savings.
Source: Bernama
