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Renewable Energy: Which one is better for Malaysia?

My dear students and fellow friends..
Do you know that, while we are so happy driving our cars and watching television at home with our  given subsidized power supply, the world is actually facing a serious and major problem on oil depleting issues.  

ExxonMobil (2004) has stated that global rates of oil discovery have been falling since the early 1960s. All of the 100 or so supergiant fields that are collectively responsible for about half of current world production were discovered in the 1940s, '50s, '60s, and '70s. No fields of comparable size have been found since then; instead, exploration during recent years has turned up only much smaller fields that deplete relatively quickly. The result is that today only one new barrel of oil is being discovered for every five or six that are extracted and used (http://www.oildepletionprotocol.org/getinformed/faq).



This is happening now to our world. Just look at this figure.

Sources: 
(http://blog.derestricted.com/category/peakoil/page/3/)

Human tends to produce more oil, due to the global energy demand. Unfortunately, the discovery of new oil fields are decreasing every day.
What will happen in the future if there are no fossil fuels left, I am not so sure..

Sources: 
(http://blog.derestricted.com/category/peakoil/page/3/)
What shall we do? Are we gonna just wait and see?
Source:
(http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/r/renewable_resources.asp)
So, what is the best solution so far? Well, many researchers believed that the answer to this situation is by implementing Renewable Energy (RE).

What is Renewable Energy? 
Source: (http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/08/australia-breaks-its-own-record-in-renewable-energy-goals/)

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). International Energy Agency explains:
"Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources."
The main objectives to implement RE are to provide green energy, which is environmental-friendly, reliable, clean and prolongs sustainable development for the future. 




I always believed that Solar Energy is the best solution for Malaysia. Basically, because our country is geographically located at the equator and we receives sun 12 hours a day.



Sources: (http://tooons.blogspot.com/2009/09/cartoon-solar-energy.html)
Solar energy with its radiant light and heat from the sun manage to give Malaysia a reliable supply of power.

Something that is sooo..true about solar power..=)  Nobody owns it except the Almighty.



Sources: http://weblog.sinteur.com/index.php/2007/12/
There are two types of solar technologies; either passive solar or active solar. It is all depending on the way the solar radiant is capture, convert and distribute to solar energy. 
Type 1: 
Active solar techniques: include the use of photovoltaic panels (PV) and solar thermal collectors  (concentrating solar power-CSP) to harness the energy. 
Type 2:
Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air. This is more reflects towards building design in architectural study.

My focus on my PhD research is more on Type 1. So, what is Type 1 of Solar Power?
Solar power is divided into two main technologies, which are Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Solar Thermal Power.

(i) Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Below are the pictures that show the coolness of this system and how we can adapt to residential houses in Malaysia:-

Sources: http://www.solar-green-wind.com/archives/tag/photovoltaic-panels/page/2

(ii) Solar Thermal Power

Source: http://www.volker-quaschning.de/articles/fundamentals2/index.php


This is how solar thermal power works.
 Source: http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/survey_of_energy_resources_2007/solar/724.asp

Sources: http://www.izmitsolar.com/images/tarla/

We really need a solar farm in Malaysia if we intended to implement this type of system.

Source: http://www.volker-quaschning.de/articles/fundamentals2/index.php


Source: http://www.gadgetroad.com/spain-uses-worlds-first-solar-thermal-power-plant-367/

Picture above shows a solar power plant which is located near Seville, in Spain, and can be described as an architectural landmark and an industry marvel. The Spain engineers have constructed a 40 storeys high tower surrounded with 600 mirrors that reflect sun’s rays on top of the tower. Heat from sun is used to steam water, that in turn powers turbines producing electricity with zero gas emissions making for the perfect environmental friendly power plant (http://www.gadgetroad.com/spain-uses-worlds-first-solar-thermal-power-plant-367/). This is the major different from PV system.

Something to ponder on.. So far, with the advancement of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV), Malaysia only focuses on BIPV for commercial and urban residential areas. How about rural and remote areas in Malaysia? Yes, we do have some successful PV projects in islands in Malaysia, but the progress is a bit slow compared to Thailand (our nearest neighbour). What are the best initiative? I personally don't think BIPV is suitable  to be implemented to Malaysian 'kampung' houses. Do we really think that only urban people deserves to have all the excitement in life via electronic entertainment? So, the 'kampung' people will  only sleep early at night in the future?This will definitely affected the society development in Malaysia for the future. 
So, which one is better for Malaysia??

For a beautiful world in the future...
Sources: 

http://www.virginiaenergy.org/home/2010/08/23/zoning-change-clears-way-for-solar-energy-in-eastern-shore/


Finally, I would like to recommend to all of you to be wise in energy consumption. Be wise and save it!



Source: (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/videos/energy/2008_11_energy_cartoon_en.htm)

10 comments:

ur_whispers said...

satu lg info yg sgt berguna, sepatutnya malaysia dari dulu lg da implemenkn konsep ni. tp yela kn, sume nk projek yg cnggih2 je sb income masyuk. INSYALLAH, lpas ni puan jd rujukan kt malaysia. kbanggan warga b.s khususnya. ;D

damhaziaf said...

LOVE THIS ENTRY...
SOLAR IS THE BEST SINCE MALAYSIA IS HOT AND HUMID ALL YEAR LONG... :)

HJ. ABDUL MALIK HJ. AHMED said...

Kepada tenaga pakar solar, reka cipta PV yang boleh di beli oleh rakyat di kampung. Sekaran ini yang murah adalah tenaga dari hidro power, kalau sebuah rumah di kg bayaran untuk bil electic sebulan hanya RM 20 atau kurang yang mana tidak payah bayar. Semua pelajar sekolah menegah pun tahu solar enegy baik tanpa pencemaran tapi kos pemasangan dan alatan PV adalah sama dengan satu keluarga hidup selama hampir 100 tahun bayaran bil electic.

Nur Azfahani said...

terima kasih en abdul malik..memang itulah salah satu aim research saya sekarang..nak cipta utk penduduk kampung..terima kasih!

Unknown said...

After my environmental training, I have learned that there are a lot of ways or alternative resources that we can do to harness energy. Only problem is that they are not that affordable. Solar panels for example are just so expensive.

Lakshmi said...

Hello. My name is Lakshmi. I find your blog very well written and honest. Recently sustainability has been a pre-requisite for all industries as it has become a national aim to be more sustainable. I would like to hear your views on this article I came across. It is about a village in Southern Bavaria and how they produce more environmentally friendly energy than they use. In what ways do you think these technologies can be used in Malaysia to help us create a green environment? How can Malaysia follow this example to be more sustainable country? I really hope to read a post about your views on this topic.

The article: http://www.siemens.com/innovation/apps/pof_microsite/_pof-spring-2012/_html_en/smart-grids.html

Unknown said...

Good read and Great article. I want say that this article is very nice and very informative article.I will make sure to be reading your blog more. 
Home Solar Power System
Solar Albuquerque

Anonymous said...

Hmm this post is truly effective; you have identified the core factors in your write-up.
solar farm malaysia | solar pv farm malaysia

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