Source Of Renewable Energy In Malaysia Research Articles

Current energy recycling technology for agricultural waste in Malaysia

This article examines the production and use of biomass as a renewable energy source in Malaysia, focusing on the agricultural processing industry. Malaysia produces approximately 168 million tonnes of biomass, including palm oil waste, rice husks, coconut debris, sugar cane waste, urban waste, and forestry waste. The abundance of biomass resources provides a competitive advantage over other renewable energy sources. However, the industry faces restrictions and challenges, such as high disposal costs, high electricity consumption, and related expenses. To address these issues, it is crucial to study the types of biomass available, current technology for biomass energy production (waste-to-energy), and relevant environmental motivations, initiatives, and legislation. This paper analyses the agricultural waste available for energy generation, existing technologies for converting waste into energy, and the role of environmental policies in the agricultural processing business. Energy recycling, which involves utilizing agricultural waste to generate electricity and thermal energy, is proposed as a viable solution. Several technologies are explored, including anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration/combustion, and pyrolysis, each with advantages and disadvantages. Thermochemical processes are highlighted for their effectiveness, requiring minimal pre-treatment, shorter reaction times, and adaptability to various biomass feedstocks and climatic conditions. The implementation of incentives, initiatives, and policies by the Malaysian government serves as guidelines for the agricultural processing industry to adopt energy recycling practices. By emphasising energy sustainability and promoting green building initiatives, the industry can contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy landscape.

Consumers Purchase Intention towards Solar Panel as Renewable Energy Source in Malaysia

Numerous studies have been undertaken, both globally and locally, to investigate influencing factors and consumer buying behaviour relationships. However, research on consumer purchase intention towards solar panel as renewable energy product in Malaysia is still lacking, and this research aims to fill the research gap. The objectives of this study to examine the factors influencing comprising of product price, product quality and advertising towards consumers’ purchase intention of solar panel in Malaysia. The data for this study were collected from 348 respondents via an online questionnaire, and hypotheses analysis was conducted using multiple regression analysis to investigate the influencing factors and consumers’ purchase intention for solar panel as renewable energy product in Malaysia. Results shown that product price, product quality and advertising have significant influence on consumers’ purchase intention towards solar panel in Malaysia as important source for energy conservation and generation.

Real-time Thermal Energy Harvesting from Solar Radiation in Malaysia at Low-Temperature Difference

.Malaysia is located in a tropical climate with an abundance of solar radiation. Due to the low albedo of roofing material, around 20 % to 90 % of heat is absorbed from solar radiation. Thus, it is possible to harvest thermal energy from solar radiation using TEG, which promotes the diversity of renewable energy sources in Malaysia. Previous research evaluates the potential of thermal energy harvesting of the TEG open circuit voltage and unipolar condition. Thereby, this research focuses on designing and developing a thermal energy harvesting system (TEHS) for harvesting thermal energy at low-temperature differences from solar radiation. The TEHS can harvest thermal energy in bipolar conditions, different voltage levels, TEG input voltage fluctuations, and rapid weather-changing conditions during real-time field tests. Parallel with series balance TEG array configuration obtained impedance matching at 125 Ω. The field test method was conducted for 105 days. The maximum mean efficiency obtained is 94.33 %, with an output power range between 0.46 mW and 66.10 mW. The promising finding indicates that the developed TEHS is robust and capable of operating at optimum power transfer at uncontrollable solar radiation and weather conditions. In addition, the potential of the power generated evaluation is to be used as a power supply to several sensor nodes.

Enhancement of Vibration Energy Harvesting Performance by Omni-Directional INVELOX Wind Funnel: A Computational Study

An alternate renewable energy source, through a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester with a bluff splitter body, could lead to higher efficiency in energy harvesting, through vortex-induced vibration at a near-resonance condition at 20 m/s high wind speed. However, wind energy is not as popular as solar energy, as the main renewable energy source in Malaysia, due to the relatively low wind speed available in the country. The INVELOX machine, introduced in 2014, was one of the most recent systems used to harvest wind power by accelerating wind speed. This omni-directional wind funnel could capture wind from all directions and tunnel it through a convergent-divergent nozzle, where the coupled bluff splitter body and piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH) are located at its venturi throat, which could lead to an increase in wind speed to fulfil the task of VIV energy harvesting. The proposed modified design is found to achieve 2.7 times the wind speed amplification at the venturi, which outperformed previously proposed designs. To achieve the optimum wind speed of 20 m/s for the coupled bluff splitter body and the PVEH plate, a free-stream wind speed of 7.4 m/s is recommended. The integration of the PVEH plate and the wind funnel is expected to harvest maximum voltage output at 20.99 V or 4.96 V, with a maximum power output of 0.82mW at 20 m/s.

An Overview of Banana Biomass as a Potential Renewable Energy Source in Malaysia

Electricity is a vital component necessary to stimulate the growth of a country whereby Malaysia relies upon nonrenewable fossil fuel for much of its needs. Since the 70’s oil crisis, Malaysia has attempted to preserve its oil resources and increase the contribution of renewable energy which subsequently has boosted the rapid increase of renewable energy supply, particularly in hydropower but under the 5th Fuel Diversification policy, the country prioritises to diversify its fuel sources. Banana waste has been identified as one of the potential sources due to its abundance in natural resources in Malaysia for being widely planted in agricultural sector. It has been used by neighbouring country, namely Thailand and also efficiently recycled by developed nations worldwide. This paper will discuss the potential biomass feedstock, and banana plant is chosen for the nature of its abundance, fast growth rate, and disposal after harvest. Conversion from biomass into energy can be done by direct combustion, solid biomass briquette, bioethanol, and biogas. Theoretically, all the methods except direct combustion are viable for energy generation but bioethanol and biogas suffer from compatibility issues with existing infrastructure designed for fossil fuel thus making solid fuel a topic that should be researched further to improve its uses in cogeneration and boilers. Hence, banana biomass is feasible for use as a source of renewable energy in Malaysia.

Performance evaluation of renewable energy R&D activities in Malaysia

This study explores the performance of R&D activities in five renewable energy resources, namely, solar, wind, biomass, biogas, and mini hydro. The case study is Malaysia and considers the data from 2012 to 2017 in relation to two policy thrusts, namely, systematic R&D program and human capital development toward the renewable energy deployment in Malaysia. This research uses the DEA method to evaluate the efficiency of the R&D activities of renewable energy resources considering the variables in the government’s renewable energy policy. Result indicates that mini hydro is the most efficient renewable energy source in Malaysia, whereas wind is the most inefficient one from the perspective of R&D activities. Although the R&D activities related to mini hydro are few, the output of installed capacity is proportional to the input in R&D activities compared with other renewable energy resources. Wind is the most inefficient renewable energy resource due to its high R&D activities compared with those of other sources, and installed capacity is the lowest among others.

The Enhancement of Solar Power System Implementation in LAS Building

In Malaysia, the installation of PV panels in residential, industrial and commercial buildings has been imposed since 2001. This is due to the 8th Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) when Government introduced Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic Technology Application (MBIPV) plan to encourage the application of renewable energy source in Malaysia. One of the alternatives that have been done by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) was installing PV panels in government buildings in Putrajaya. Mostly, the installed PV panels only cover up to 30% of the energy demand in one level of a building. However, after operating for some years, the performance of the PV panels was degrading. Since the maintenance cost for PV system is quite high, and due to the factor of lack of knowledge on how to maintain the system, the installed PV systems are mostly abandoned now. The project was discontinued after the warranty period and the contract with the contractor end. Therefore, the aim of this study is to re-improvise the abandoned PV system in one of them which is Building of Section of Legal Affairs (BHEUU). Through this study, three new models of the BIPV system were proposed, namely Model 1 (4IWOB), Model 2 (4IWB), Model 3 (1IWOB), and Model 4 (1IWB). In this study, the technical and economic assessment has been performed. From the findings, results show that Model 3 (1IWOB) provides the best choice to replace the existing BIPV system where this model only use 1 unit of inverter and no battery storage is used. Saving can be saved up to 37.5% if Model 3 (1IWOB) is chosen to replace the existing PV system at BHEUU building, where the existing system is represented by Model 1 (4IWOB), which used 4 inverters, and no battery was installed.

Oil palm biomass wastes as renewable energy sources in Malaysia: Potentials and challenges

This paper reviews the potentials and challenges of using Oil Palm Biomass Wastes (OPBW) as Renewable Energy (RE) source in Malaysia. The OPBW mainly includes Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) and Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB). From the present review, the major potentials of OPBW consist of their large availability, being a major sources of lignocellulosic materials for industrial, being economically viable, being a solution to the disposal problem and cost-benefit. The challenges of using OPBW as RE source are being a high dependency on the availability of the OPWB, unfair subsidies given to RE based fuel, the use of POME that produces methane, substantial amount of under-utilization of lignocellulosic wastes from OPBW, the need for further studies on the correct selection of generation plant size, and not economically competitive. Overall, the challenge is to make the OPBWs as a reliable, profitable and sustainable RE industry. Based on the present review mainly from Malaysia, there are definite potentials/advantages of using OPBW as RE source in Malaysia. Ways and suggestions on these practical issues on how to reduce problems facing the use of OPBW as RE source in Malaysia should be investigated and addressed before the large scale utilization of OPBW as RE source can be anticipated in Malaysia.

Development of Sustainability Assessment Framework in Hydropower sector

Nowadays, Malaysian demand in energy sector was drastically increase due to technological developments. Since, hydropower is one of potential renewable energy source in Malaysia. The largest electricity utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad was provide an electricity to more than seven million people via independent suppliers in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah by intended a potential sustainable hydropower system. In order to increasingly the power capacity from current use, 1882 MW to more than 3000 MW by years 2020. In this study, the environmental issues and also the penalty to the responsible company especially on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) towards their project or business are one of the problems. Other than that, every project or business has to prepare a sustainability statement or sustainability report as vital to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad under their listing requirements. Next, the sustainability performance on their project cannot be determined to achieve the key performance indicators (KPI) satisfaction from Government, stakeholder or any responsible agencies. This study presents an exhaustive review of these studies and suggests a direction for future developments. Sustainability Assessment framework or self-assessment is decidedly as a significant framework to assist towards sustainability reporting and to produce a Sustainability index for Hydropower sector using a mathematical model study. The results reveal that, the quantitative measurement from Sustainability Assessment framework to Systematic Sustainability Asssesment tool can be produce. In doing so, it is possible to improve the performance of the project especially in hydropower planner.

Photovoltaic Facade in Malaysia: The Development and Current Issues

The aim of this study is to review the current development of photovoltaic façade technology and assess the potential, issues and future regarding photovoltaic installation on vertical building façade in Malaysia with a focus on architectural aspect. Photovoltaic solar energy has become dominant and commercially available among the various renewable energy sources in Malaysia. It is now progressively developed and has become more reliable with significant potential for long-term growth. The application of photovoltaic technology should be broadened to maximize the limitless availability of solar radiation, especially in the tropical region. Past research from other countries has shown that PV vertical façade has great potential to generate electricity. Although the photovoltaic façade application in tropical urban areas can be a difficult challenge in Malaysia, with appropriate design and implementation it can create a new architectural tool in the Malaysian built environment and open up new possibilities in renewable energy’s future.

Fabrication of Organic Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Renewable energy is rapidly gaining importance as an energy resource to help aid the national energy depletion crisis of fossil fuel and coal. One of the most potential renewable energy sources in Malaysia is hydropower followed by solar energy. This paper presents the fabrication of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) using organic dyes from dragon fruit and chlorophyll which is extracted from spinach. The fabrication of DSSC uses the Dr.blade method. Result shows that the efficiency by using dragon fruit as sensitizer at 40µm TiO2 Thickness is 6.45%, better than the usage of chlorophyll dye which is 4.23% at the same thickness. Result also shows that at 80µm by using the dyes from chlorophyll extract has higher solar cell efficiency compare to dragon fruit. This shows that both the chlorophyll extract and dragon fruit shows potential in the development of a feasible working organic dye.

Impact of oxygenated additives to palm and jatropha biodiesel blends in the context of performance and emissions characteristics of a light-duty diesel engine

In recent years, palm and jatropha biodiesels have been considered as potential renewable energy sources in Malaysia. Therefore, this experimental investigation was conducted to improve the blend of these two biodiesels (20% biodiesel blend, named P20 and J20, respectively) with the help of oxygenated additives. The comparative improvement of P20 and J20 blends with ethanol, n-butanol, or diethyl ether as additives was evaluated in terms of performance and emissions characteristics of a four-stroke single cylinder diesel engine. The final blend consisted of 80% diesel, 15% biodiesel, and 5% additive. Tests were conducted at different speeds (1200–2400rpm) at constant full load conditions. Use of additives significantly improved brake power and brake thermal efficiency (BTE). Compared with P20 blend, the use of diethyl ether as additive increased brake power and BTE by about 4.10% and 4.4%, respectively, at 2200rpm. A similar improvement was observed for J20. The other two additives also improved performance. Although HC emission increased slightly, all blends with additives reduced more NOx and CO emissions than P20 and J20 almost throughout the entire engine test. The use of ethanol as additive reduced CO emission by up to 40%, while the use of diethyl ether as additive reduced NOx emissions by up to 13%. The additives’ oxygen content, volatility, and latent evaporation heat controlled the emissions characteristics of the blends. An analysis of the combustion chamber pressure, temperature and heat release rate of the modified blends revealed interesting features of combustion mechanism, which are indicative of the performance and emissions characteristics. This experiment reveals the potential improvement of palm and jatropha biodiesel blends with the addition of three promising additives.

Experimental study on flicker emissions by photovoltaic systems on highly cloudy region: A case study in Malaysia

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are the most promising renewable energy sources in Malaysia because of its location being around the equatorial region where sunlight is available throughout the year. However, the country is warm and surrounded by the South China Sea and Malacca Straits. A large amount of clouds is created and passed over the region. The impacts of the passing clouds on the PV power outputs and voltage magnitude have to be studied thoroughly. Therefore, an experimental low-voltage network integrated with a PV system is set up. The experimental results show that the passing clouds result in the frequent and rapid fluctuations of PV power outputs, hence producing a large amount of flickers to the distribution networks. Some of the flickers are actually greater than the statutory limits. To mitigate this power quality issue, a dynamic load controller is proposed to be the solution because its components are cheap. The load controller is made of a number of 200 W power resistors and solid-state relays. A central controller switches the resistors on and off very rapidly based on the fluctuations of the network voltage. The experimental results show that the dynamic load controller is able to reduce the flickers effectively on the distribution networks. The studies and solution presented in this paper are very valuable to different parties, such as the government, policy makers, utility companies and owners of the PV systems, in order to ensure an effective growth of the PV systems without compromising the quality of electricity supply to the customers.

Design and evaluation of passive concentrator and reflector systems for bifacial solar panel on a highly cloudy region – A case study in Malaysia

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are the most promising renewable energy source in Malaysia because it is a tropical country receiving a huge amount of solar irradiation every year. However, Malaysia is surrounded by South China Sea and Malacca Straits. The vapour from the sea water with the blow of seasonal winds causes a large amount of clouds passing over the country, hence creating the variation in the direct and diffused sunlight throughout a day. The performance of the concentrators and reflectors for bifacial solar cells under the variation of direct and diffused sunlight has not been studied thoroughly. Therefore, several concentrators and reflectors have been designed, constructed and placed under a specially designed bifacial solar panel. The setup of each concentrator and reflector is as follows; scattering particles (scatterers) sprinkled across the plane mirror under the solar panel, an array of adjustable small plane mirrors placed underneath the solar panel, and long triangular prisms in between solar cells with a plane mirror underneath. Another solar panel is constructed and placed on top of the plane mirror as a reference. Each setup of the concentrators or reflectors is evaluated by measuring the power output of the tested and the reference panels together throughout a day under the sun. Empirical approaches are developed to compensate for uncontrollable factors including solar cell manufacturing mismatch and unequal degradation between the tested and the reference solar panels. A few potentially working static concentrator and reflector systems are identified based on the experimental results. An assessment is carried out to show the economic viability of the proposed setups with respect to that of the mono-crystalline solar cells.

Biomass as the Renewable Energy Sources in Malaysia: An Overview

Past and current economic growths of Malaysia have been primarily energized by fossil fuels. Malaysia has very substantial potential for biomass energy utilization given its equatorial climate that is ideal for dense tropical forest growth and agricultural vegetation. There are five major sectors contributing wastes to biomass energy in Malaysia: forestry (wood products), rubber cultivation, cocoa cultivation, sugar cane cultivation and oil palm cultivation. Biomass in Malaysia contributes about 14% of the approximately 340 million barrel of oil equivalent (boe) of energy used every year. This paper provides an overview on the types of biomass being used, the research works on biomass conversion into energy and the present biomass energy projects in Malaysia.