KUALA LUMPUR (July 8): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has launched an initiative to deploy solar energy at the group's assets across Malaysia to increase efficiency and reduce carbon emissions as part of its sustainability agenda and aspiration of Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 (NZCE 2050).

In a statement today, Petronas said four of its assets will be installed with ground-mounted and rooftop solar systems this year, which will result in a combined capacity of over 66 megawatt peak (MWp) installed, and will help Petronas achieve reductions of 58,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per annum.

"This effort includes the completed 8.33MWp solar rooftop installation at Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd's yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor, namely MMHE West, which is the largest of such installation in a single compound in Malaysia, as well as a 7.3MWp solar rooftop installation at Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Seri Iskandar, Perak, which is on track for completion by end of 2021.

"The remaining two projects in the pipeline include a 49MWp ground-mounted and rooftop solar installation at Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor, which is targeted for completion in 1QFY22, as well as a 1.4MWp solar rooftop installation at Institut Teknologi Petroleum Petronas (INSTEP) in Terengganu.

"The installation at INSTEP will also see an additional five kilowatts peak (kWP) solar training system installed to provide students with hands-on experiential learning in addition to the renewable energy modules and products the institute offers," it added.

Petronas noted that the combined installed capacity at the four assets, for scale, can generate enough energy to power more than 20,000 households.

Petronas' head of new energy Dr Jay Mariyappan said that as Petronas has an active role in powering businesses with clean energy, the group is cognisant that the transformative effort should start at its home ground as part of its journey towards NZCE 2050.

"In this regard, we will be using our very own M+ by Petronas solar solution for the installations, where we integrate high-quality systems and products that we have provided for our customers across the world.

"This would help power our assets with reliable supply of solar energy for decades to come, whilst optimising performance using the HAWK A.I Data Monitoring System that we currently offer," he added.

Petronas noted that moving forward, it will continue to assess the energy consumption of its assets and the group's portfolio to identify opportunities for electrifying processes and maximising renewable energy use as part of a phased approach towards achieving NZCE 2050.