Proton unveils solar power facility at Tanjung Malim

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton has unveiled its solar power initiative at its Tanjung Malim plant to help the national carmaker reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 11,536 tonnes a year while generating utility cost savings.

Proton's solar power facility has a footprint of 23.4 acres and involves a car park housing 2,880 cars, which is also used as a transit point for cars produced at Tanjung Malim before being distributed nationwide, a statement from the national car maker said.

This parking lot bi-facial solar panel facility, the biggest in Malaysia, is covered by 20,544 bi-facial solar panels, named as such because they can generate energy from direct sunlight on top as well as those reflected from the ground, and from cars parked underneath the panels.

The cars are also protected from the elements because they are shaded. The combined power generated is 12 megawatt peak (MWp), enough to meet up to 25 per cent of the plant's power consumption.

Built and commissioned by Pekat Group and its associate MFP Solar, the solar panel facility is able to generate 9MWp.

"It allows Proton to potentially save up to RM4.39 million a year on its energy bill with a further saving of RM1.46 million available via the 3MWp generated by the factory roof-mounted panels,” the statement said.

The company launched its first Proton Green Wheel and Green Policy back in 2015, comprising five phases involving energy management system; energy efficiency; waste and water management; renewable energy via solar energy plant; and digitise all of Proton's energy data on a cloud server to introduce artificial intelligence and big data analysis.

Over a five-year period from 2015-2020, these initiatives saw RM20 million in savings in energy bill, equivalent to 55,000 MWh savings and a reduction of over 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. - Bernama