PUTRAJAYA, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Five grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) solar installation projects at government buildings have been completed ahead of schedule, with a combined installed capacity of 779.86 kilowatts, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said.
He said two of the projects were at Ministry of Foreign Affairs premises, while the other three were at the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).
“This is a concrete step towards expanding the use of clean energy at government premises, while reducing operating costs and supporting more sustainable public asset management,” he said at a ceremony to hand over the projects to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and three other government premises here today.
He said the Public Works Department (JKR) had also implemented grid-connected photovoltaic and off-grid solar installations involving 46 Federal Government buildings, 283 rural schools in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, four Royal Malaysia Police border posts and an Orang Asli village.
“These projects have the potential to generate energy cost savings of up to RM115 million annually compared with conventional electricity supplies,” he said.
Nanta said the government-building solar installation programme, led by the Ministry of Economy, received an allocation of RM57.6 million, with an initial target of installing nine megawatts of capacity in Peninsular Malaysia.
As of last September, eight projects involving 23 buildings with a capacity of 5.8 megawatts had completed their Defects Liability Period (DLP), while seven projects involving 11 buildings with a capacity of 2.09 megawatts remained within the period.
He said three other projects involving 11 buildings with a capacity of 1.29 megawatts were under construction, while another project involving one building, with a capacity of 0.5 megawatts, was at the procurement stage.
“When all the systems are fully operational, the programme is projected to generate about 13,200 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, with potential gross savings of around RM5.5 million a year on government electricity bills,” he said.
-- BERNAMA