Solar Panels on Campus Support Sustainability

“When students look around campus, they will see that most of the things have a hidden theme of sustainability,” said Mark Tay Kuan Meng, Vice President of Taylor's Facilities Management.

Solar panels were installed on the roofing from blocks B to E.

Source: Taylor’s University

Taylor's University completed a grand installation of 1756 solar panels on the 10th floors of blocks B to E of the campus a few months back.

"They provide approximately 701kWp, which helps save RM30,000 on electricity every month," said Tay.

The panels are designed to be self-maintaining and thus require minimum maintenance. They are also expected to generate about 15 to 20 years of sustainable secondary energy for the campus.

"We are currently using the latest technology, which is the bifacial solar panels," explained Tay.

The view of the solar panels from a drone.

Source: Taylor’s University.

Taylor’s University is the first entity within the Taylor’s Education Group to install solar panels, and it has been a rewarding and encouraging experience for the institution as well as for Tay.

“We are using this as the launching pad to cascade this practice not only at Taylor’s University but to all viable Taylor’s entities that can enjoy a sustainable source of solar energy.”

Mr. Tay stressed the importance of sustainability.

Sustainability is strongly advocated by Taylor's as a way to drive awareness on campus grounds and for the students to develop the mindset of incorporating sustainable practices in their daily routines, which they will carry on for the rest of their lives.

Today, Malaysia’s renewable energy (RE) industry is progressing with the help of government support and incentives.

They include Net Energy Metering (NEM), Feed-in-Tariff (FIT), and large-scale solar programmes that strengthened Malaysia's foundation in the solar industry.

As of 2020, Malaysia has been pilot-testing the peer-2-peer (P2P) energy trading programme where those who generate excess electricity at home through solar panels can sell the additional power directly to others in the future.

The project aims to reduce energy prices and allow consumers to enjoy cheaper green energy.

Source; Bernama