renewable energy: solar energy report

Environmental Sustainable Design [SOLAR ENERGY]

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture 1

Solar Energy

Group Member:

Hong Sang Won Brian [0314661] Ken Wong Chun Thim [0315534] Kelvin Yong Chen Yin [0316050]

Course:

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture

Subject:

Environmental Sustainable Design [BLD60203]

Project:

Nature & Us (Report and Poster)

Tutor:

Mr. Sivaraman



Contents

Content Page Number

1. Introduction 3

2. Renewable Energy - Solar Energy 3

3. Technology of Solar Energy 4

4. Global statistics of solar energy use 4

5. Solar Energy in Germany 5 - 6

6. Potential of Solar energy in Malaysia 7

7. Average Solar Cell Efficiency Calculation 7 - 8

8. Issues of Solar energy in Malaysia and the Government’s initiatives 8 - 9

9. Case Study 10

10. Impact and benefits to Malaysia 11

11. How to improve solar energy usage in Malaysia 11

12. Conclusion 11

13. Reference 12



1. Introduction

This research essay covers the overall topic of solar energy as a renewable energy. We will first introduce what is solar energy and the technologies that revolve around this renewable energy. Next, the global context is set by showing statistics of solar energy used in other countries to show how solar energy is on the rise and investigate how they succeeded in increasing solar energy generation in their country. We will then investigate the potential of solar energy in Malaysia, initiatives by the government and private sectors, the reason why solar energy is still not widely used in our country and the possible impacts and benefits of it in our country. As solar energy is highly related to sustainable built environment, we will tie it back to archtecture as well.

2. Renewable Energy - Solar Energy

Solar energy simply can be defined as energy provided by the sun’s radiation where the sun is a very powerful source of energy. It is very important for us to harness and increase the usage of the solar energy because it is practically emission free while generating electricity so it is an excellent alternative for traditional energy the fossil fuel like coal and petroleum. Furthermore, with solar energy the danger of further damage to the environment is minimized as it does not pollute the environment and it also reduces the pollution of the noise because it does not produce any noise. Moreover, sunlight can be used to directly generate electricity by the use of photovoltaic technology and the use of solar cells or photovoltaic arrays is getting more and more acceptable as an alternative and cost efficient means of generating power.

The advantages of using solar energy are it is clean and is renewable energy which it does not cause any pollution such as air, land, water, noise and any other pollution that can be named. It can also be produced free of charge once solar panel is installed and less maintenance needed to keep solar cells running. Lastly, it greatly reduces the energy expenditures.

The disadvantages of using solar energy is that it is very expensive to buy and install as it costs twice as much as coal, oil and any other non-renewable energies. The usage of this depends on the exposure of the sunlight by country and it cannot be produced during the night.

http://egov.eletsonline.com/2012/11/india-malaysia-sign-mou-for-renewable-energy/

http://egov.eletsonline.com/2012/11/india-malaysia-sign-mou-for-renewable-energy/



3. Technology of Solar Energy

There are two main types of technology in solar energy which are photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal. The photovoltaic is a technology that produces electricity directly from the sun radiation and it is easily found and operates mainly on residential appliances, commercial equipment, lighting and air conditioning for all types of building. It can be installed mounting on the ground, rooftop of a building and it is designed into building materials. Whereas for solar thermal technology, it uses the energy from the sun to generate heat and from there the electricity is generated.

4. Global statistics of using solar energy

Table 1.0 Top 10 countries around the world using solar energy in 2010

Table 1.1 Top 10 countries around the world using solar energy in 2014

The above table (1.0 and 1.1) shows the list of top10 countries using solar power in the world accordance to installed photovoltaic solar (PV) energy capacity. As shown in the table, the country where it uses the most solar power in the world is Germany with producing 35.5GW solar energy annually followed by China with 18.3GW, Italy with 17.6GW and more.

Country Amount of Energy(Annual)

1) Germany 9.8 GW

2) Spain 3.4 GW

3) Japan 2.6 GW

4) United States 1.6 GW

5) Italy 1.2 GW

6) Belgium 0.363 GW

7) China 0.305 GW

8) France 0.272 GW

9) Australia 0.125 GW

10) United Kingdom 0.027 GW

Country Amount of Energy(Annual)

1) Germany 35.5 GW (+25.7)

2) China 18.3 GW (+17.995)

3) Italy 17.6 GW (+16.4)

4) Japan 13.6 GW (+11)

5) United States 12.0 GW (+10.4)

6) Spain 5.6 GW (+2.2)

7) France 4.6 GW (+4.328)

8) Australia 3.3 GW (+3.175)

9) Belgium 3 GW (+2.637)

10) United Kingdom 2.9 GW (+2.873)



5. Solar Energy in Germany

Table 2.0

Table 2.1

http://energytransition.de/




Germany where it uses the most solar energy has been the world’s top photovoltaic installer and uses the most solar energy in the world (table 2.0), the reason to this by the German is to create demand that would drive down the cost of solar energy to make them mainstream as an affordable option which 85 per cent of photovoltaic is on rooftops in Germany now. Because of this, the German farmers have been enormously benefited providing up to 25 percent of their income from generating and selling renewable energy to the grid.

Furthermore they have converted 30 percent of their electric grid to renewable energy which are mostly photovoltaic solar energy with feed-in-tariff. And as to give a boost to the Chinese solar panel industries because the price of solar panel in china is cheaper compared to the other countries like US, they have created huge market on solar energy and has increased in photovoltaic solar panel productivity and lead to dramatic decrease in price (table2.1).

The result of using solar power in Germany, 80 percent of the price for solar has dropped and zero carbon energy is now compatible with fossil fuel like coal and petroleum. This leads to a world saving achievement. Other than that as price fall in solar power the subsidies for new installation have also dropped and it also create more jobs for people to work in the renewable energy industries than conventional energy industries because Germany’s renewable industries are getting bigger and bigger each year. The bigger the industry, the more workers needed (table 2.2).

Table 2.2




6. Potential of Solar energy in Malaysia

Malaysia is suitable for generating solar energy as it has a suitable places mainly from northern states in Malaysia to generate solar energy such as Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Sabah where it receive the most amount of solar radiation whereas in southern states like Johor and Sarawak receive the least (table3.1-3.2). The annual average value of solar irradiation in Malaysia is around 1500 kwH/m^2 which is quite high. To put into perspective, Germany has a annual solar irradiation of 1055 kwH/m^2. It goes to show how Malaysia can tap into this resource and if used properly can provide a major benefit to the country. If solar is implemented in domestic homes, it could be capable of reducing the electricity used by fossil fuel by 19%.

7. Average Solar Cell Efficiency Calculation

This table shows an example of the potential energy that can be generated from solar panels and their return from investment with the FiT system.

Region/City Bayan Lepas Kuching

Solar Radiation of Area (kWh/m^2) 1,809 1,470

Max amount of energy that can be taken advantage of by panel (Efficiency of 15%) (Solar Radiation of Area x 15%)

271.35 kWh/m^2 (1,809 x 0.15%)

220.50 kWh/m^2 (1,470 x 0.15%)

Sun Hours in a day (hours) 5 5

PV area (m^2) 10 10

Amount of energy produced daily (kWh/day) (Energy produced by panel in an hour every meter square x Sun hours in a day x PV area)

13.57 kWh (271.35 kWh/m^2 x 5 hours x 10m^2)

11.03 kWh (220.50 kWh/m^2 x 5 hours x 10m^2)

Feed-in-Tariff rate as of Jan 2015 (RM/kWh) RM1.16 RM1.16

Annual revenue (Energy produced daily x FiT rate x 365 days)

RM5745.53 (13.57 kWh x RM1.16 x 365 days)

RM4670.10 (11.03 kWh x RM1.16 x 365 days)

Average Initial Investment for installations, etc ~RM47500 ~RM47500

Payback Period (Years) (Initial investment / annual revenue)

~8 years ~10 years

Table 3.1 Table 3.2



The table above shows the comparison between the areas with highest solar irradiation with the lowest which are Bayan Lepas (highest) and Kuching (lowest). Based on the calculations above, one can generate a revenue of RM4600 – RM5745. The payback period is between 8 to 10 years as well. The values are fixed to provide a perspective on different areas. This table shows a very general calculation on the potential of solar energy in Malaysia.

In real life, the calculations may vary according to the efficiency of PV, PV area, installation costs, FiT rate and sun hours. As a result the payback period may drop to 6 to 7 years. An average solar panel life is 20 years before they have to be changed or maintained. This is actually a very good investment as it allows BIPV users to earn passive income after they have paid off their solar panels. Not only that, this is also environmental friendly as it reduces carbon emissions.

Besides that, the efficiency of solar panels are expected to increase by 5% in the next few years and this will cause the payback period to be reduced even more. From this, we can see that solar energy in Malaysia actually has potential for mass use by its citizens.

8. Issues of Solar energy in Malaysia and the Government’s initiatives

However, there are issues that hinder the boom of solar energy in Malaysia. The sources of renewable energy in Malaysia such as biomass, biogas, wind and solar to generate electricity is in very low popularity currently which it only generates less than 1 per cent of the total generated electricity in Peninsular Malaysia. The most electricity generation capacity in Malaysia is a natural gas followed by the usage of coal, diesel and other renewable sources(table 3.0).

Table 3.0



The main issues with solar energy is most Malaysians are not aware of what and how solar energy works to generate energy and how it will be beneficial for them once knowing it. The few initiatives by the government to this are the Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV), Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) and SURIA 1000.

The government launched SURIA 1000 to establish new market in BIPV and targets the residential and commercial sector. A number of grid-connected solar PV systems will be put on auction or bidding through the mass media and this will allow the creation of a sustainable BIPV market. This market will allow more BIPV to be implemented in offices and residences.

The MBIPV initiative was launched to reduce the costs of BIPV technology in the Malaysian market to increase the use of the technology in more buildings and reduce the impact greenhouse gases emission from the Malaysia’s electricity sector. It also aims to produce awareness in the public on the importance of sustainable building design. Pusat Tenaga Malaysia’s Zero Energy Office building is one of pilot project that shows the importance of sustainability and it can be achieved in Malaysia.

The Feed-in-Tariff is initiated to allow electricity produced from various renewable energy resources to be sold to power utilities at a price. With this incentive, more and more Malaysians will adopt solar panels and take opportunity of this. It allows the PV industry to have a healthy and competitive market as the years pass on. This means they will compete to produce more efficient solar panels to lure in more customers. The prices of solar panels will also decrease as a result of competition between companies as well. Customers will then be able to get return on investment faster than before.

The government launched a few initiatives as a response but it seems like it doesn’t yield much response from the public. It can’t be denied that as the price of solar panels are decreasing by the year and Malaysians are slowly beginning to adopt solar panels in their homes. However, the price for installation of solar panels is still a burden to most Malaysians and it is the reason why solar panel still hasn’t has its spurt yet even though it is slowly being adopted. It is only a matter of time for the solar energy industry to advance and it will in the coming years when the efficiency of PV technologies increase and the price of installation of PV systems decrease. The government’s initiatives in promoting awareness will also affect the growth of solar energy in Malaysia.



9. Case Study

The PTM Zero Energy Office is built as a pilot project to promote sustainable building design to Malaysia. The office uses energy efficient designs and BIPV technologies which placed Malaysia on the regional map as the first completely self-sustainable building in Southeast Asia. The building uses both passive and active designs with solar BIPV system. It does not rely on fossil fuels for energy and rather its own solar BIPV system. There are four different solar BIPV technologies that make up the system. This office is a great example for Malaysian architects to design sustainable buildings.

The Menara Mesiniaga building located in SS16 Subang Jaya Malaysia is one of the sustainable buildings which it uses some of the solar panels to provide back-up energy for future needs for instance when power failure occur in sudden occasions. Moreover, approximately 10~20 percent of total energy used in this building is from renewable energy mainly from solar panels installed on the rooftop trellis which it also functions as to give shade to the building. Due to this the solar panels will be installed more for better building system in the future.



10. Impact and benefits to Malaysia

By taking Germany who is number one in solar energy as a case study, we can project the impact and benefits of solar energy to Malaysia. Firstly, we will be able to see a growth in economy and lesser emission of greenhouse gases as we rely less on fossil fuels to generate electricity. We can reduce our reliance on conventional energy as a main source of energy in producing electricity and move towards renewable energy. As solar energy becomes more relevant, there will be more job opportunities in the solar energy industry compared to conventional energy. Besides that, when the demand of solar energy increases, the price of installations will decrease as well. This would then result to investment certainty from feed-in-tariff.

11. How to improve solar energy usage in Malaysia

Solar energy usage in Malaysia can be improved with several ways. First of all, the government should create awareness in all the citizens of Malaysia of the benefits of using solar energy for electricity generation. This can be done by advertising the usage of solar panels (photovoltaic) installed/mounted on rooftops of individual houses and buildings and how it will benefit them in the future via streaming on television or any online social media. Secondly, since most of the people in Malaysia are not willing to purchase the reason being the price of installation of each solar panel (photovoltaic) is very expensive and cannot afford to buy one, the suppliers should reduce the cost of solar panel (photovoltaic) so that the people can purchase one.

12. Conclusion

To conclude, solar energy is an energy source which is unlimited supplied by the nature. In Malaysia where solar irradiation is abundant, we should try to rely more on using renewable energy such as solar energy. We should try reducing the usage of non-renewable energies (coal, oil and gas) and we should try our best to rely more on renewable energies. Renewable energy is very important to us as it provides many advantages such as minimizing the percentage of global warming and pollution in various types such as air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution and etc. I strongly encourage everyone to use solar energy as a main electricity supplier by installing solar panel at home as it would save us from polluting our planet. Although the solar panels are expensive in units and also in installing fees, the investment will be worth it if we are patient enough. It is inevitable that the solar industry in Malaysia will improve in the future. The factors that dictate how fast we can improve is all in our decisions whether we will accept solar energy as a reliable source of energy.



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renewable energy: solar energy report

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