SOME of the firms also managed to reduce total lifetime GHG emissions to around 1m tonnes 

by AZALEA AZUAR / pic TMR

SIXTEEN companies and six facilities have saved RM26.27 million of electricity bill in a year, equivalent to 351,055 megawatt-hour (MWh) of energy, under the Malaysia Energy Efficiency and Solar Thermal Application Project (MAEESTA).

The companies are mainly textile factories, processing factories, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper factories, rubber and metal surface treatment, petrochemical and chemical processing, and hospitals.

Meanwhile, the six facilities installed in the solar thermal system have managed to reduce total lifetime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 995,554 tonnes.

MAEESTA is an initiative by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to reduce GHG emissions in the industry by advocating and demonstrating sector-specific improvements.

The project aimed to use the solar thermal technologies to align with the nation’s aim to become a carbon-neutral nation by early 2050.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said his ministry welcomes any introduction and implementation of more effective industrial technologies and services that can reduce GHG emissions, thereby ensuring the environmental sustainability of the country.

The project was implemented in July 2014 by UNIDO and funded by the Global Environment Facility whereas Sirim Bhd works as the executing agency, providing seminars, user training and experts training to various subsectors.

A total of 14 MAEESTA participants have received certificates of appreciation while 19 experts who have passed the UNIDO’s final examination on thermal energy efficiency and solar thermal technology and design received certificates of competency from the minister.

Sirim senior VP Mohd Azanuddin Salleh explained that UNIDO has been working closely with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Malaysia Rubber Products Manufacturers, Malaysia Energy Service Cos, government agencies and authorities such as the Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Centre, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Invest Selangor, Sarawak Economic Development Corp and the Economic Planning Unit Terengganu.

The company will also organise an awareness seminar in promoting thermal energy efficiency and solar thermal technology to the industry.

“Twenty-seven awareness seminars have been organised nationwide which have seen more than 1,000 participants from the industries, consultants, financial institutions and institutes of higher learning.

“A total of 135 participants have attended the expert training on thermal energy efficiency and solar thermal technology programme, while 35 companies participated as host company for thermal energy audit training for possible implementation of thermal energy efficiency measures and the integration of solar thermal system,” Mohd Azanuddin said in his speech on behalf of Sirim president and group CEO Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad.

Throughout the project, 15 Sirim researchers, scientists, and engineers have attended and successfully completed the awareness training and the experts training course on energy efficiency and solar thermal design and optimisation.

Mohd Azanuddin also expected the global solar thermal market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 4.5% where the residential segment will dominate the market.

“The Covid-19 pandemic did not have a visible impact on the solar thermal market. On the contrary, the installed capacity for solar thermal systems increased in 2020 globally.

“The global installed capacity for solar thermal systems was recorded at 6,479MW in 2020. The market is expected to flourish more in the coming years due to the growing demand for renewable-based heating applications in residential and industrial sectors and the reduction in energy bills due to self-energy generation,” he added.

On the other hand, Sirim-UNIDO national project manager Dr Azmi Idris said solar heater installations have happened earlier.

For example, MIWA Manufacturing Sdn Bhd began their solar heating operations back in 2019 whereas Ampang Hospital and Sarawak Heart Centre completed their installation last year.