Government hospitals go for green

TEMERLOH: Government hospitals nationwide will turn to green technology to reduce their electricity bills which amount to thousands of ringgit per month for each hospital.


Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the move would not cost the Government anything as the ‘greening exercise’ would be conducted by the private sector.

He added that hospitals could save power by using energy-saving lighting and air-conditioner units.


“We are working out the rate of payment for companies that embark on the effort. The rate can be based on the amount of energy saved.

“Companies should propose the best possible ways to help the Government reduce electricity costs at hospitals,’’ he told reporters after a visit to the Sultan Ahmad Shah Hospital (SASH) here yesterday.

Liow said the monthly electricity bill for SASH amounted to RM650,000.

source : The star

Solar Street lighting in campus Malaysia (IKRAM/KLIU)

KLIU (previously known as IKRAM) 'sSolar powered street lightings

Malaysia university campus start to install green energy devices such as solar powered street lighting in their campus.The good example solar power street lightings within campus is located at KLIU or IKRAM, Serdang (nearby UNITEN campus).

Data:
2 x 80W solar panels powered 2 x 40W LED street lights.

副首相訪中國‧太陽能發、電再生能源與旅遊業‧中企擬赴馬投資3領域

中國‧上海21日訊）副首相丹斯里慕尤丁指出，中國企業對於到馬投資太陽能發電、再生能源以及旅遊業深感興趣，並在這幾項領域提出許多他們關注的問題。




他今日在上海出席中國和馬來西亞企業圓桌會議時，中方企業表示對於到馬投資深感興趣，特別是上述領域。



國威建議設通訊業培訓中心



在會上，目前已在大馬投資，並在大馬聘有1千700名員工的中國國威通訊，也建議在大馬設立通訊業培訓中心，以協助大馬培訓這個領域的熟練工人。



慕尤丁在新聞發佈會上說，大馬正積極發展為區域教育中心，而且也希望能夠培訓更多熟練工人，而國威通訊所提出的建議，正符合大馬的要求，而且我們也給予這方面的投資獎掖。



“因此，我在會上建議國威通訊向我們提呈一份詳細的建議書，以便有關建議儘早落實。”



談到中國企業對於投資大馬時所關注的問題，他說，不同領域有不同的關注，譬如投資太陽電能工業的投資者，關心的是大馬的電費問題、天然氣供應是否足夠問題；一些投資者則關心土地的問題。



他指出，投資者提出了在大馬不同州屬投資有不同的土地政策問題，這些都是大馬當局會關注和改善的。


他說，如果外資面對土地的問題，可以向中央政府反映，政府會協助他們解決。

國內旅遊業待改善

在旅遊業方面，他說，大馬國內的旅遊業有待改善，特別是成本問題。



副首相指出，旅遊業者反映，大馬國內旅行的成本略高、旅遊產品不夠多樣化，以及食物不合中國旅客口味等。



不過，他表示，有中國企業表示對投資大馬酒店業感興趣，因此，他鼓勵他們到馬來西亞投資酒店業和度假村。



慕尤丁也指出，中國曾經以廉價勞工作為外資的吸引力，但發展至今天，中國的勞工成本已經日益高漲，反而是馬來西亞的勞工成本更具競爭力而吸引外資。



馬盼成中經濟夥伴



慕尤丁說，馬來西亞希望搭上全球市場從歐美轉移到亞洲的經濟列車，並希望成為中國的重要經濟伙伴。



他指出，中國對全球經濟的正面發展有清楚的承諾，它在未來10年，將把經濟成長的重心放在亞洲，這是令人鼓舞的。



“因此，大馬希望能夠成為中國的伙伴，以讓大馬轉型為一個先進的經濟體。”



慕尤丁今日在上海主持馬來西亞與中國企業界圓桌會議致詞時說，馬來西亞的經濟發展已經到了一個分水嶺，目前正從中收入經濟，走向高收入經濟。



他指出，馬來西亞的經濟穩健成長，從2009年的負成長1.7%，成長至2010年的7.2%，儘管發生了日本地震災難以及中東局勢緊張，但相信馬來西亞在2011年仍可取得5至6%的經濟成長。



他指出，目前共有120家中國投資的公司在馬來西亞營運，它們多數是涉及製造業和服務業。



邀中投資具潛能領域



慕尤丁也邀請中國企業到馬來西亞投資一些具有潛能的領域如商業服務、教育、保健、電器電子、綠色工藝、再生能源、資訊和通訊工藝等。



他說，馬來西亞政府將提供一個更有活力的經商環境給外國投資，以讓它們保持競爭力。目前馬來西亞外貿促進局正在與中國投資者積極討論他們有興趣的領域。



星洲日報．2011.04.21

Save Energy: Guide to Select suitable Inverter Lamp

PM unveils seven new ETP projects worth over RM11bil

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak unveiled seven all-new projects Tuesday to further strengthen the continued interest of investors in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which has to date garnered RM106.4bil in investments, RM153.8bil in Gross National Income (GNI) and 298,865 new jobs.


The 72 projects within 54 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) announced to date means that 41.2% of the 131 EPPs have commenced, all in less than six months since the ETP was launched.


"Now, that is big results fast," he said when announcing the latest investment projects. Among the latest projects are Infineon Technologies' RM480mil investment to expand and upgrade its facilities in Malacca; Pensonic Holdings Sdn Bhd's establishment of a manufacturing hub and international distribution network in Penang, involving an investment of RM250mil; RM45mil for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) infrastructure to enhance the efficiency of container clearance at Customs checkpoints;

MYLED MASTER Sdn Bhd expanding its manufacturing capability in the green technology sector; Asia Media's RM500mil investment to develope the first Digital Live Transit-TV Broadcasting infrastructure in Malaysia; a RM50mil Government initiative headed by Tricubes Bhd to provide a unique and official email account and identification for all Malaysia; and the International Islamic University Malaysia spearheading an initiative to develop and position Malaysia as one of the world's leading Islamic finance education hubs. - Bernama

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/19/nation/20110419164403&sec=nation#13032146500621&if_height=635

Solar Energy Outlook - Extremely Sunny

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence

Tags: solar energy, General Electric, Solarbuzz, Solar Today, Bloomberg, solar power prices, solar industry, Robyn Griggs Lawrence

With more than 100 megawatts of solar power on order, General Electric today announced that it would build a $600 million thin-film solar panel factory—the largest in the United States. The announcement is part of a string of good news surrounding solar energy this week, including a report that solar is the nation’s fastest growing industry and a Solarbuzz prediction that solar photovoltaics (PV) would continue to be one of the most promising growth markets.

According to the Solarbuzz United States Deal Tracker report, the PV project order backlog for the United States market has now soared past 12 gigawatts. The U.S. market doubled in size in 2010 and is forecast to do so again in 2011, reports Solarbuzz, a market research business focused on photovoltaic industries.

Yesterday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, industry analysts and executives predicted that solar panel installations would surge in the next two years as prices become competitive with coal, Ehren Goossens reports. Bloomberg estimates that large photovoltaic projects will cost $1.45 a watt to build—half the current price—by 2020. By 2013, Solar PV installations will almost double, to 32.6 gigawatts from 18.6 gigawatts last year, New Energy Finance estimates. Manufacturing capacity worldwide has almost quadrupled since 2008, to 27.5 gigawatts, and 12 gigawatts will be added this year.

In the final quarter of last year, electricity from coal cost about 7 cents a kilowatt hour compared with 6 cents for natural gas and 22.3 cents for solar photovoltaic energy, according to New Energy Finance estimates. Rooftop solar installation prices are expected to continue dropping by about 5 to 8 percent a year.

“We are already in this phase change and are very close to grid parity,” Canadian Solar chief executive officer Shawn Qu told Bloomberg. “In many markets, solar is already competitive with peak electricity prices, such as in California and Japan.”

Solar Today deputy editor Seth Masia writes that “the hole in the Japanese power grid” left by the nuclear disaster there will lead to strong demand for all forms of distributed power, from mobile generators to PV arrays. “In the rush to rebuild, distributed PV should turn out to be the low-cost alternative to imported natural gas,” Masia predicts. “If that's the case, Japanese demand for modules, domestic and imported, will spike.”

Roberta Gamble, director for energy markets at the research firm Frost & Sullivan, told Masia that she expects Japan to introduce more aggressive distributed-energy incentives with a local-content requirement. Given Japan's strength in research and development, she said, "we may see improvements in efficiency that will benefit the worldwide market.”

Save Energy : Inverter Desk Lamp

Inverter Lamp illuminate the fluorescent lamp by converting normal 50Hz AC to high frequency , 55,000Hz AC.

Benefit #1

Flicker Free Light

Benefit #2

COmfortable Brightness

Benefit #3

Quick Lighting

Benefit #4

Energy Saving--High Efficient inverter technology enables energy savings compared to magnetic ballast lights.

Benefit #5

Protect your children's eyes

Benefit#6

6-7 times longer life span than incadenscent lamp and resulting in much fewer lamp replacements (once every 5-7 years)

Solar Radiation In Malaysia

We are blessed with long year sun shine and average we can receive 4000-5000 Whr/m2 daily within 4 to 8 hours.

Bakun hydro project to be joint venture

KUCHING: The Bakun hydro dam, which is expected to produce its first 300MW in three months, will become a joint venture between the Federal and Sarawak governments, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.



He did not, however, reveal what would be Sarawak government's stake in the dam, which could produce up to 2,400MW when fully operational.

The dam is now owned by the Federal Government through Finance Minister Inc.

The Sarawak government has offered to take over the dam's ownership for RM7bil after the Federal Government agreed to sell it last year as the plan to transmit the electricity to the peninsula via underwater submarine cables was scrapped.

From left: Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, Tokuyama vice-president Toshiki Nakamura, Press Metal chairman Datuk Paul Koon, State Planning Unit director Datuk Ismawi Ismuni and State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohammad Morshidi Abdul Ghani after the signing.

“The Prime Minister has assured me and the state government that all the Bakun power will be given to industries in Sarawak,'' Taib said at the signing of power purchase agreement (PPA) term sheet between state-owned Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) and four major investors in energy-intensive industries in Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) here yesterday.

The four investors were Press Metal Bhd, Japan's Tokuyama Corp, Hong Kong-based Asia Minerals Ltd and Singapore's OM Materials, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Press Metal will set up a new aluminium smelter while Asia Minerals and OM Materials will each invest in a manganese smelter. Tokuyama's plant will produce polycrystalline silicon for solar panels.

Taib said the 944MW Murum dam project, now under development by SEB, would be operational in 2014, and that more dams would be built.

“For the (proposed) Baram and Pelagus dam projects, all the technical studies have been done. The Baram dam project will be a joint venture with Brunei.

“We (Sarawak) will have 6,000MW to 7,000MW (hydro power) by 2020,” he added.

The proposed Baram dam in northern Sarawak is expected to generate about 1,000MW while the Pelagus dam in the upper reaches of the Rejang River basin, where the Bakun and Murum dams are located, will generate about 900MW.

SEB, which has plans to develop several smaller dams, will export electricity to Brunei and Sabah.

Taib said the state had some 500,000 coal resources which could be exploited to produce electricity.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/13/business/8468803&sec=business#13026663224311&if_height=628

Google invests US$168M in solar energy project

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is investing US$168 million in an alternative power project that aims to produce enough solar energy to light 140,000 homes.


The commitment announced Monday is part of the financing that BrightSource Energy needs to build a solar power plant in California's Mojave Desert. BrightSource also has lined up $1.6 billion in loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy and a $300 million investment from NRG Energy Inc.

Google Inc. has been dipping into its bank account to back various projects that promise to generate energy from other sources besides oil and coal. The company has emerged as a major consumer of electricity as it opens huge data centers to house the computers that run its Internet search engine, e-mail and other online services. - AP
Latest business news from AP-Wire

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/12/business/20110412083645&sec=business#13025976452401&if_height=556

Higher income for home solar energy

PETALING JAYA: Residential homes which produce solar energy under the Renewable Energy (RE) Act 2010 will be paid more than industrial producers but the cost of setting up solar panels in homes will be higher due to the lack of economies of scale.



Under the RE Act 2010, a small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) producer, meaning a household, could potentially earn up to RM1.75 per kWh of electricity produced by selling the power to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Consumers who installed capacity up to and including 4 kWp (kilowatt peak) would be paid a feed-in-tariff (FiT) of RM1.23 per kWh, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's RE/Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic Technology Application (MBIPV) national project team leader and chief technical adviser Ahmad Hadri Haris.
Ahmad Hadri Haris says the responses received from the industry so far have been very good.

“However, with the bonus criteria such as installation of solar PV in buildings or building structures, they will be paid an additional 26 sen on top of the RM1.23 per kWh,” he told StarBizWeek.


Consumers who installed solar PV for use as building materials will get an additional 25 sen and they will also get another three sen for using locally manufactured or assembled solar photovoltaic modules.

Meanwhile, for producers generating above 4 kWp of solar PV electricity, and up to and including 24 kWp, will be paid RM1.20.

A solar farm producing capacity above 1 MWp, and up to and including 10 MWp, will be paid 95 sen only.

Ahmad said the lower FiT for large-scale producers was due to the “economies of scale” they received, given their bigger production compared with that from those singular solar panels from a normal household.

“We make it fair for all to make equal returns and give opportunities for all to participate in this scheme. The FiT varies depending on the production capacity,” he said.

Ahmad said the cost to produce a 1KW of solar electricity would be about RM15,000 but 1MW might only cost RM10mil instead of RM15mil due to economies of scale.

“We recognise the higher set-up cost for smaller producers, thus we give a higher FiT to enable them to recover and earn some money,” he said.

Some are saying that the FiT is not commercially viable for people to start investing in solar PV.

“Nothing is perfect but it is a good start. The responses that we received from the industry so far are very good,” Ahmad said.

He said all solar PV producers would be guaranteed an income for up to 21 years from the date of signing the agreement.

“Consumers producing 4KW of electricity at home will be earning more than RM400 a month. It will be a secondary income generator,” Ahmad said, adding that the current practice was “net metering” for electricity generated from solar PV, whereby TNB would deduct the production from consumers' consumption on a contra basis.

Ahmad said there was also an initial annual degression rate of 8%, and technology would become cheaper progressively.

source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/9/business/8439512&sec=business#13024074060781&if_height=736

Green School in Bali, Indonesia

Welcome to the green school in Bali, Indonesia. It provides its students with an education about the amazing environment that we live in. It is a holistic and relevant education. During the construction, only bamboo, elephant grass and clay were used. Cement was used just in some places in the foundation. The central and the most important building is the "heart of the school." It is perhaps the largest building in the world built entirely from bamboo. Its dimensions are 18 meters high and 64 meters long. General area of the school includes a variety of structures: apartment buildings, classrooms, office building, and cafes. The school gets electricity from environmentally friendly sources of energy: hydraulic turbine generators and installed solar panels. It seems that considering the way we are polluting the earth, everyone should attend.

source : http://www.greenschool.org/

Renewable energy stocks perk up

The rally of renewable energy stocks on Bursa Malaysia could last a couple of days, says a head of research

Kuala Lumpur: Renewable energy (RE) stocks were actively traded for the second day running, triggered by the passing of the RE Act 2010 on Monday by the Dewan Rakyat.

"Passing of the Act is a major boost to RE companies," said Edmund Tham, Mercury Securities head of research.


The rally could last a couple of days, he added.

Tham said KUB Bhd, which has an energy unit, and Fitters Diversified Bhd might be the traders' pick if the rally were to pick up momentum.

"KUB is also an election play stock, but trading momentum on Fitters is picking up steam," Tham said.

Fitters was among the most actively-traded shares in the market and off the market.

The stock closed 3 sen at 98 sen a share, while the warrants closed at 51.5 sen, up by 10 sen.

There were also some 15 million Fitters warrants, representing more that 20 per cent of the total warrants in the market, being traded off-market at 42 sen apiece.

On Monday, the Dewan Rakyat approved the RE Bill, which will now have to get the approval from the Dewan Negara before it becomes a law.

Late last month, Cypark Resources Bhd group chief executive officer Daud Ahmad told Business Times once the RE Act becomes a law, it will mean higher feed tariff for companies supplying RE to Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

This is because the national utility will have to pay 95 sen per kilowatt hour (KWh) for solar power energy from 21 sen per KWh currently.

Cypark is the country's largest publicly-traded RE company.

Its shares have gone up by over 200 per cent in six months. The stock closed at RM3.17 yesterday.

"Cypark has done tremendously well," said Pong Teng Siew, Jupiter Securities head of research.

According to Pong, the volume in Cypark is better than the daily average volume of some blue-chip companies.

Pong said some ethical funds might be taking positions in RE companies but in the longer term, if these companies can produce the financial results to back up the viability of RE as a commercial source of energy, broader-based funds and investors might join in the fray.

Read more: Renewable energy stocks perk up http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/rex/Article/index_html#ixzz1InmLCjdN

Renewable energy bill passed

KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament Monday passed the Renewable Energy Act 2010 bill which is aimed at developing renewable energy in a more aggressive manner.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said under the bill, the Government proposed to implement the feed-in tariff system which was deemed suitable for the country.

"We've studied similar mechanisms in other countries and made comparisons with the ones adopted in developed countries. And we feel that the feed-in tariff system is good and suitable for our country," he said when winding-up debate on the bill here.

When tabling the bill in December last year, Chin's deputy Noriah Kasnon said the Government aimed to have 2,080MW in renewable energy capacity by 2020.

Under the bill, the Government would offer competitive rates to buy power generated by individuals and companies in efforts to encourage them to invest in renewable energy projects. - Bernama

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/4/nation/20110404212147&sec=nation

三读通过再生能源法案

（吉隆坡4日讯）国会下议院今日三读通过2010年再生能源法案，预料将在今年6月或7月正式生效。


上述法案制定政府电力收购制（Feed-In Tariff，FIT），将再生能源生产者所生产的再生能源，衔接至电力供应线，并由电力分销商优先采购再生能源，法案于去年12月在下议院进行一读。

能源、绿色科技及水务部长拿督斯里陈华贵今日在国会针对法案进行部门总结后，在国会下议院副议长拿督罗南建迪主持下，三读通过2010年再生能源法案。


source: http://beta.nanyang.com/NewsCenter/articleDetail.asp?type=N&ID=235848&SID=7&CID=10

How to save energy bill: Induction Lamp

Induction lamp designed for long performance life span. It lasts about 100,000 hours with better lumen/watt.
Pls refer to the table of comparison between induction , high pressure sodium, metal halide, compact fluorescent, linear fluorescent and incandescent.

Sime Darby, Tenaga and Mitsui & Co collaborates in potential biogas projects

KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby PLANTATION [] Sdn Bhd, TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [] (Tenaga) and Mitsui & Co Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to study the feasibility of potential biogas projects at palm oil mills owned by Sime Darby Plantation.

The joint feasibility study will scrutinise in detail the technical feasibility, financial viability and preliminary development works for implementation of potential biogas power generation projects.


Sime Darby Plantation Executive Vice President Franki Anthony Dass said the feasibility study would begin with eight palm oil mills, which has the capacity to generate between 1.3Mw and 1.5Mw daily.

"We will extend the biogas production for power generation in other mills after the two-year feasibility study is done," he told the media at a press conference after signing the MoU on Monday, April 4.

Sime Darby Plantation has 62 palm oil mills, out of which 40 are in Malaysia while 22 are in Indonesia.

Dass said Sime Darby would also seek approval from Indonesian authorities to enable the mills to generate power from biogas in the future.

http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business/184476-flash-sime-darby-tenaga-and-mitsui-a-co-collaborates-in-potential-biogas-projects.html

RON97 petrol will rise to RM2.70

The price of RON97 petrol will go up by 20 sen to RM2.70 per litre effective midnight tonight, according to the Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM).


PDAM deputy president Datuk Zulkifli Mokti said the increase was due to the rise in the price of crude oil to US$114 per drum this week from US$105.

"This is due to the crisis in the Middle East," he said when contacted by Bernama tonight.

Zulkifli said the price was likely to increase in the future due to the situation in the Middle East which he added could prolong.

On Jan 31, the price of RON97, which was floated according to the prevailing oil market price, rose by 10 sen to RM2.50 per litre.

RON95 petrol remains at RM1.90 per litre. -- Bernama

Read more: RON97 petrol will rise to RM2.70 http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110401205521/Article/index_html#ixzz1IK3vvVoY