Top 10 greenest universities in the US

This initiative by Sierra Club reminds me of the several programs by our own Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to promote energy efficiency, energy saving and environmental sustainability. Check it out here.


The ranking: How it's done

Universities are ranked after an extensive questionnaire that asks about everything from where a campus gets its energy to whether its landscapers use native plants and its cafeterias offer recycled napkins. The United States has more than 2,000 four-year college and universities.

162 responses were received from qualified schools, which was further reduced in numbers. A perfect score is 1,000 with top-ranked school netting 850.


Top ten greenest

Now, let's look at the top ten and take some inspiration from what our friends are doing on the other side of the globe:-

10. University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California

Score: 756.69 | Students: 22,218

UCSB has 44 of its buildings LEED certified, 47% of academic departments offer a class about sustainability (for a total of 321 classes and 217 faculty members who do eco-research), 50% of food served is local, and 75% of waste gets saved from the landfill via recycling and composting; the goal is to get that latter percentage to 100 by 2020. The Gauchos have also, since the late 1990s, lowered their electricity use by a third, their water use by a quarter, and their food waste by almost 35%. A whopping 94% of students take alternative means of transit to class.
Photo courtesy of Jonas Krant/UC Santa Barbara


9. American University
Washington, D.C

Score: 759.34 | Students: 12,693

Aiming to be carbon neutral by 2020, AU is off to a strong start, with 30 buildings on track for LEED Silver certification, a 27kW solar array, D.C.'s biggest solar hot-water system, and a contraption called the Vegawatt, which turns old cooking oil into electricity. The university's plan is to divert 100% of its waste, and it's already two-thirds of the way there, thanks to a new campus-wide composting program, trayless dining, quarterly e-waste drives.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Watts/American University


8. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia

Score: 759.76 | Students: 20,941

The EPA named Georgia Tech as one of the "best places for commuters" for its range of eco-transit options, from carpooling to mass transit; natural gas–powered buses move more than 2 million riders per year. The 440-acre Atlanta school was also named a Tree Campus USA for its 25% arboreal cover. Despite all that foliage, water usage hasn't increased since 2001. Everything built after 2008 is LEED certified, and a 1.4-million-gallon stormwater cistern helps conserve. The Yellow Jackets have been recycling since 1996, diverting an annual mass of 600 tons.
Photo courtesy of Rob Felt/Georgia Institute of Technology


7. Stanford University
Palo Alto, California

Score: 763.82 | Students: 15,666

Over 5 years, the California school raised more than $430 million for its Initiative on the Environment and Sustainability, a chunk of which is headed toward a new energy facility that'll halve the 8,180-acre campus's carbon emissions and cut its water use by almost a fifth. Some 130 professors spanning 40 departments teach at least 700 sustainability-related classes. 36 student clubs are green-themed and that recycling and composting are big: The waste-diversion rate here tops 66%, and the goal is zero waste.
Photo courtesy of Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service


6. Green Mountain College
Poultney, Vermont

Score: 767.09 | Students: 637

One of the first U.S. universities to achieve climate neutrality, this tiny school in Poultney has a $5.8 million biomass plant that burns locally sourced woodchips to heat 85% and power 20% of the campus's two dozen buildings. Since 2006, GMC has also sourced 1.2 million kWh of its energy per year from cows. Students visit local farms to learn about the bovine methane-generating process and are required to take a 37-credit environmental curriculum, which is delivered in LEED-certified classrooms. In the photo, GMC students plant trees to create a riparian buffer along the banks of the Poultney River.
Photo courtesy of Don Hamerman/Green Mountain College


5. Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Score: 776.72 | Students: 21,131

Cornell offers 340 classes, across almost every department, about sustainability, and this is one of the only colleges where you can minor in climate change. School officials pledge that Cornell will be a net-zero-carbon campus by 2050. Over the past two years, its greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 25 percent, and over the next five, $45 million will go toward energy-conservation projects. Plenty of open space remains, however: The 2,300-acre campus in Ithaca, New York, has two stunning gorges, a 35-acre botanical garden, and a 100-acre arboretum.
Photo courtesy of Lindsay France/Cornell University Photography


4. University of California, Davis
Davis, California

Score: 782.74 | Students: 32,653
Last year's "Cool Schools" winner, an agricultural-education powerhouse, churns out research that helps shape California's water laws and push new farming practices into the mainstream. Its West Village, a neighborhood for students and staff, is America's biggest planned zero-net-energy community. UC Davis's climate action plan has already cut campus emissions to below year-2000 levels. Recycling, composting, and reuse divert more than 60% of would-be trash from landfills, and aim for 100% by 2020.
Photo courtesy of Karin Higgins/UC Davis


3. University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California

Score: 794.30 | Students: 27,479

UC Irvine's 19MW cogeneration facility and other energy-preserving projects have helped the school save 20 million kWh of electricity per year since 2009. Solar panels generate enough power to run 500 homes for a year. The 1,475-acre campus is anchored by a 16-acre botanical garden, and all new buildings must be certified at least LEED Silver. Living green is important at UCI: Meatless Mondays are strongly encouraged, and a dozen student clubs focus on eco-issues.
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Johnson/UC Irvine


2. Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Score: 807.04 | Students: 2,380

Since 2008, Dickinson has bought enough wind power to offset all of its electrical needs. And since 2006, students have been collecting grease from local restaurants and turning it into biodiesel for the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, campus's vehicle fleet. If all goes according to plan, the school will achieve zero net emissions by 2020. Meanwhile, cafeterias serve student-grown produce, construction crews build to LEED Gold standards, and paper use has dropped by 60% over the past four years.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Crowley/Dickinson College


1. University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut

Score: 850.14 | Students: 22,301

This year's winning school offers almost 600 sustainability-related classes taught by some of the greenest minds anywhere — more than 40% of UConn's research faculty does original academic work that benefits the environment. Since 2005, the main campus, in Storrs, has slashed its water use by 15% and over the past two years, 13 of its buildings were retrofitted to prevent 2,640 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. In the trayless dining halls, 30% of meal options are vegetarian, and more than a quarter of the food is processed within 100 miles, with many ingredients harvested right on campus: Honey comes from UConn's apiaries, fresh eggs from the agriculture department, and seasonal produce from student-run gardens.
Photo courtesy of Peter Morenus/University of Connecticut


Click here for the full article at Sierra Club magazine

The Beetle goes green!

Go beetle! Go!

The ever popular Volkswagen Beetle goes literally green with a re-sprayed body and a purposefully worded caption. Not that The Green Beetle is related to The Green Mechanics, but I like the sound of it and it feels right having him on here on Friday's Gone Green section.


Not really sure if driving it around is a 'green' idea as it might have efficiency issues as it age up and travel many many miles.


** On a side note, over 21 million of Volkswagen Beetles have been manufactured since 1938, making the rear-wheel drive configuration the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single design platform, worldwide.

New model sells from RM179,888 (approx $56,300) in Malaysia (1.4 TSI), while it's as low as $19,995 in the United States (2.5L).

Green message of SERASI Programme

I saw this today in the Daily Express and I thought it is worth sharing.

Caring for the environment must start early, and efforts towards making the world greener should involve young people, especially students.

What is SERASI Programme

It is a programme aimed at creating environmental awareness among students through efforts related on environmental management, environmental activities, cleanliness and beautification of the school ground, environmental innovation and clean toilets.




SERASI Award for 2011/2012

Bahasa Melayu is the medium of instruction in national schools in Malaysia, and as such, I will not attempt to translate the article into English.

Senarai penerima anugerah SERASI:

A) SEKOLAH MENENGAH

Anugerah SERASI (Sekolah Menengah) - SMK Tebobon, Kota Kinabalu

Kategori Pengurusan Alam Sekitar - SMK ainanam, Kota Kinabalu
Kategori Aktiviti Kesedaran Aam Sekitar - SMK Mohamad Ali, Ranau
Kategori Penghijauan Sekolah - SMK Abakan, Tawau
Kategori Kebersihan dan Keindahan - SMK Elopura II, Sandakan
Kategori Inovasi Alam Sekitar - SMK Bandaraya, Kota Kinabalu
Kategori Tandas Bersih & Ceria (Bandar) - SMK Taman Tun Fuad, Kota Kinabalu
Kategori Tandas Bersih & Ceria (Luar Bandar) - SMK Kalabakan, Tawau

Anugerah Guru SERASI - Puan Fanny Chin Chiew Phing, SM St. Michael Penampang
Anugerah Guru Harapan - Cik Tseu Yet Yun @ Evon - SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin


B) SEKOLAH RENDAH

Anugerah SERASI (Sekolah Rendah) - SK Monopod, Beluran

Kategori Aktiviti Kesedaran Aam Sekitar - SK Lok Yuk, Inanam
Kategori Pengurusan Alam Sekitar - SJK (C) Cheng Ming, Keningau
Kategori Penghijauan Sekolah - SK Mantob, Tuaran
Kategori Kebersihan dan Keindahan - SK Kulambai, Kota Belud
Kategori Inovasi Alam Sekitar - SK Bundung, Tuaran
Kategori Tandas Bersih & Ceria (Bandar) - SK Sung Siew, Sandakan
Kategori Tandas Bersih & Ceria (Luar Bandar) - SK Brumas, Tawau

Anugerah Guru SERASI - Puan Chong Pei Ling, SJK (C) Sin Hwa, Tawau
Anugerah Guru Harapan - Encik Bahar B. Mohammad Sapire, SK Tansau, Putatan


ANUGERAH KHAS MENTOR SERASI

SM St. Michael, Penampang
SJK(C) Chi Hwa, Tawau
SJK (C) Sin Hwa, Tawau


ANUGERAH WIRA SERASI

SMK Kuhara, Tawau
SK Tansau, Putatan


ANUGERAH WIRA HARAPAN

SMK Majakir, Papar
SJK(C) Siew Ching, Lahad Datu


ANUGERAH PENGETUA SERASI

Puan Nurani Fauziah Derin, SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Penampang
Encik Majus Munsing, SMK Lohan, Ranau


ANUGERAH GURU BESAR SERASI

Encik Bukah Buling, SK Salinatan, Pensiangan


TheGreenMechanics: Congratulations! Thumbs up for a green initiative starting at young age.

A little milestone II

This is just for my own benefit, to lay another tiny milestone in this blog. Today this blog reach a humble 200,000 pagehits doubling the figure of June 20, 2012. I realised I like writing/blogging very much as it broaden  my perspective and it encourage me to dig and search further on things and issues that interest me.

The Green Mechanics' 200k

This blog is mainly about Green Technology, but of late there were many articles on IT especially gadgets and tools that affect our daily routines in big ways. Also, pictures from my photography passion seem to crop up more. However, in no way this would take away my focus on renewable energy and green technology.

By the way, you can read about the Solar-powered motorbike by Sunred, captured in the above snapshot. It's a very interesting armadillo 'scaled' scooter.

National Carbon Disclosure Programme to be developed

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, has begun conducting a study to develop a National Carbon Disclosure Programme (NCDP).


Objective

When the NCDP is established, companies in the local manufacturing sector will be encouraged to issue accurate accounts of their green house gas emissions. In other words, there will be standards for reporting greenhouse gas inventories.

NCDP also aims to encourage companies to set emissions reduction targets and to develop effective emissions reduction action plans. The Programme will allow achievements to be measured and to prepare Malaysia for further carbon emissions reductions in the future.

Minister Datuk Douglas Embas said: "This will facilitate consistency and transparency in GHG (greenhouse gas) accounting and reporting, and simplify and reduce the costs of preparation and compilation,"


Prime Minister's Hibiscus Award

The PM's Hibiscus Award is a private sector environmental award for businesses and industries to recognise best environmental and operational practices by companies.

It is a bi-ennial award jointly awarded by the Business Council for Sustainability and Responsibility Malaysia, Environmental Management and Research Association of Malaysia, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and MICCI.


TheGreenMechanic's two cents: It is hoped that with the establishment of the NCDP, more companies would achieve best environmental and operational practices, and get awarded with the PM's Hibiscus Award.

Indirectly these companies would have contributed to the reduction of GHG emissions. How about that - branding your company as 'green', get recognition/award, and at the same time save the nature. Sound good?

Reference: The Star Online, July 10, 2012

After Fukushima: Japan eyes clean energy revolution

Last year Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake, followed by tsunami and the failure of nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. This was the second largest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl in 1986. As what happened during the WW2, Japan quickly get back on its feet and recovered.

Landscape of energy production has taken a relook and the Japanese government was quick to look at renewables to supplement the reduced amount of energy obtained from nuclear plants.

Large-scale solar PV plant in Kyoto. AFP photo through mysinchew.com

Like many other countries, including Malaysia, under the new policy utilities in Japan must buy all electricity produced from green sources such as, wind, geothermal, and solar at premium rates for the next twenty years. This should be good news as Japan, as a big economy, could spur the renewable energy industry particularly solar PV. The expected sudden increase demand could bring down the cost to produce renewable energy.


Look East Policy is still relevant

The look east policy during Dr Mahathir's premiership is still very much relevant. The work culture that brought Japan to where it is today must be emulated in order for Malaysia to achieve its high-income, developed nation goal.

Our Feed-in tariff under the Renewable Energy Act 2010 is 'older' than Japan's similar policy. But while we are still crawling in implementation, Japan is already gearing for massive investment in renewables, and in solar PV alone, there is already indication that Japan is poised to quickly overtake Germany and Italy to become the world's second-biggest market for solar power by creating an estimated $9.6 billion market.

So, don't just watch them. Take action!


For further readings:

Japan eyes clean energy revolution
-as reported by AFP in mysinchew.com, 5/7/2012

TOKYO, July 4, 2012 (AFP) - Even as Japan begins cranking up its nuclear reactors again, Tokyo has launched a scheme it hopes will spark a green-energy revolution and put the country at the leading edge of renewables.

The scheme comes as Japan debates its future energy policy, and is squarely aimed at forcing change in the way Japan's enormous -- and powerful -- utility companies operate. The tsunami-sparked meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant in March last year led to the shuttering of Japan's entire stable of reactors.

They forced Tokyo to turn to expensive fossil fuels to replace the third of the country's electricity the atomic plants had produced. Analysts say despite public fears, nuclear is here to stay for the foreseeable future, but resource-poor Japan must rebalance its energy mix and make greater use of renewables.

The so-called feed-in tariff could spur a whopping 85-percent rise in solar cell demand in Japan this year alone, according to Nomura Securities, and "trigger a full-scale launch of large solar farms in Japan".

"New solar cell installation could expand further if the uptake of inexpensive, Chinese-made solar cells accelerates," Nomura analyst Kyoichiro Yokoyama said in a research note. The amount of new solar power capacity that Nomura predicts for Japan this year is equal to about two nuclear reactors.

"I want to use it as a trigger to fuel the use of renewable energy," Industry Minister Yukio Edano said recently.

"It is clear that additional cost is necessary to promote greater use of renewable energy and to end our reliance on nuclear plants as soon as possible," he added.

Japan gets less than two percent of its power from renewable sources, rising to about 10 percent including hydroelectric power, but still below other industrialised nations. As of 2010, Japan's solar power output was about one-fifth that of Germany, while Tokyo was in 12th place globally in terms of wind-power generation.

Some Japanese firms have already made their move, including electronics giant Toshiba, which said it would build a huge solar plant on the country's disaster-struck northeastern coastline.

Rival Panasonic said it expected a boost in its solar-power system sales on the back of the new programme, which puts Japan on track to leapfrog Italy as the world's fourth-largest solar market by 2014, behind China, the United States and India, according to Nomura.

Mobile phone operator Softbank opened a plant in Kyoto at the weekend and has plans to build Japan's biggest solar plant -- in the northern island of Hokkaido.

"If we keep building solar panels and invest in solar energy, within 20 years it will not only become the safest and the cleanest source of electricity but also the cheapest," Softbank chief Masayoshi Son told reporters.

A group of Japanese firms led by trading house Marubeni plan to build a large floating experimental wind farm that could supply power for over 100,000 households, Jiji Press has reported. Under the scheme, premiums for different forms of renewable energy vary, but utilities must pay 42 yen (53 cents) per kilowatt hour for solar power, over twice the rate paid to operators in Germany, with generation costs in Japan less than 30 yen per kilowatt hour, Nomura said.

Those costs are at least three times those of nuclear and fossil-fuel energy, according to government estimates. However nuclear power costs are expected to spike amid heavy compensation and clean-up bills after Fukushima, the world's worst atomic accident in a generation. 


Critics have opinion of their own

Critics of the scheme, which came into effect Sunday, say it is too expensive, with most of the extra costs heaped on businesses and households. They say the new contracts are too generous and benefit a small number of green power operators, with few guarantees that they can make it a profitable enterprise and usher in a massive shift for Japan's energy mix. 


"The 20-year guarantee seems a bit too sweet a deal", said Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.

"The initial incentive is necessary. But five to 10 years should suffice... I hope they will review this plan."

A little milestone

This is for my own reference sometime in the future. A couple of days ago this humble blog reached a tiny milestone, a 100,000 pagehits although I must admit is nothing compared to the seasoned bloggers like Teh Ramuan, Bluedianthus.com and Dunia Realiti, to name a few.

The Green Mechanics' 100k

A big salute to the senior bloggers as I take inspiration from their non-stop pursue in writing responsibly in the netizen. Let's continue writing in the hope of sharing info with others and at the same time improving ourselves through research/readings in the process.

For the record, this blog is biased towards Green Technology, preserving the nature, preserving our cultural heritage and a bit of here and there to keep the mind tickled.

First Solar shutting down manufacturing In Germany, scaling back in Malaysia

First Solar Inc. says it is restructuring its operations in response to deteriorating market conditions in Europe. As part of this program, the company will close its manufacturing operations in Frankfurt, Germany, in the fourth quarter of this year. Additionally, the company will indefinitely idle four production lines at its manufacturing center in Kulim, Malaysia, on May 1.



'Permanently closed' - First Solar Frankfurt (Oder) Germany. Image: First Solar



'Indefinitely close four manufacturing lines' - First Solar in Kulim Kedah, Malaysia.
Image: Yeong Wei Kheen on Panoramio.


These actions, combined with other personnel reductions in Europe and the U.S., are expected to reduce First Solar's global workforce by approximately 2,000 positions - approximately 30% of the total. The restructuring initiatives are expected to reduce First Solar's costs by $30 million to $60 million this year and $100 million to $120 million annually going forward.

In addition, the company's average manufacturing cost is expected to improve to between $0.70/W and $0.72/W in 2012 as a result of the changes - below prior expectations of $0.74/W. First Solar estimates that average module manufacturing costs will range from $0.60/W to $0.64/W in 2013.

Mike Ahearn, chairman and interim CEO of First Solar, said in a statement that the European PV market has "deteriorated," causing the company's manufacturing operations there to cease to be economically sustainable.

"First Solar's decision to permanently close its German production facility and indefinitely close four lines at its Malaysian facility once again demonstrates the intense pressure that even the 'lowest cost' PV producers are under today to reduce their manufacturing costs," commented Sam Wilkinson, senior analyst at research firm IMS Research, in a statement.

"First Solar's costs (per watt) had been around 50% lower than those of a typical Chinese tier-one c-Si manufacturer in 2009," Wilkinson said. "Following rapid declines in polysilicon pricing, that difference is now less than $0.10/W and is predicted to close further throughout 2012.

"We've seen a number of recent examples of major Western suppliers shutting down local production of wafers, cells and modules in favor of sourcing products from Asian manufacturers as it is lower cost and offers greater flexibility," he added.

Via: Solar Industry
http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10118

Small town looks to Renewable Energy

This is very interesting, and inspiring.

Fowler, a small town in Colorado, USA, with a population of slightly over 1,000 have recently became a standard-bearer for towns looking to become green town. It went grid neutral, i.e.,  producing as much or more power than it uses.

Image: city-data.com

How many towns, or even villages around and near you that have population of 1,000? Many, I bet. I know of some villages/towns that span some tens of acres that boost a population of 1,500 and above. We are not particularly interested in the inhabitants but rather lessons we can learn from what the folks did in Fowler.

Fowler's green initiatives

The initial motivation, according to the town's former administrator, Wayne Snider, was to save money but they realised that it was also the potential to create more jobs.

One initiative that came to fruition was a 600 kWp photovoltaic panels at seven sites around the town on municipal property. It was a $1.2 million project that sells the electricity back to Fowler at about half the rate of the current utility. First year saving from this initiative was estimated at $20,000.

Others that have been planned were 2 MWp solar array at the south of the town, and an anaerobic digestion plant that would create 45 jobs which could bring Fowler closer to grid-neutrality. These did not materialise though, after the change in the leadership of the small town lead to changes in the solar rebates policy. Snider has since move to work on similar green projects at other towns in Colorado.

Lessons to learn

With the numerous green campaigns by both public and private sectors in Malaysia, I believe that a large majority of Malaysians would have now become aware of the importance of Renewable Energy and many would like their energy coming from clean energy sources. This can be done less expensively if the appropriate structure is developed. It takes people with an open mind who have a desire to make change for the better.

We know that we can benefit from the recently gazetted Renewable Energy Act 2011, but I feel that sometimes we don't need everything to be legislated for new green ideas to flourish. Fowler is a small town and it is the smaller townships that are more suited for these sort of programmes as they can cut much of the cities red tape.

Lastly, if you have small town that is away from the grid, why not think about combining solar photovoltaic, bio-gas and wind mills to supply small power for the town? It's called decentralised power and it's green!

More lessons can be learn from what Gussing, Burgenland did for its 3,764 or so population.


Note: The Fowler story can be found at Renewable Energy World.

200MW Solar plant planned in Hokkaido, Japan

The Japan Times reported recently that telecommunications pioneer Softbank is planning to build 200MW solar power plant on the Northern island of Hokkaido. This, when realised, will dwarf all previous photovoltaic installations in Japan. Softbank is reported to be negotiating with the Hokkaido Electric Power Company over prices for the electricity.

Image by Solar Frontier in pv magazine

Just a couple of months before the new Renewable Energy feed-in tariff (FIT) system comes into effect on July 1, it has been reported that Softbank subsidiary SB Energy plans to build a 200 MW plant, over 480 hectares, near an industrial district in the city of Tomakomai, on the south of Hokkaido.

SB Energy has announced that it will establish solar power plants in other parts of Japan, but the Hokkaido plant will dwarf the others. The Japan Times reports that a plant near Kyoto is set to have a capacity of 4.2 MW, Gunma (2.4MW) and in Tokushima (5.6MW).

FiT rates out in July 2012

The final rates for the FIT has yet to be established but initial figures indicate that they may be at levels which could make installations quite profitable. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reported that returns for photovoltaic investments could be as high as 44% to 51%.

Softbank and Hokkaido Electric are expected to announce a construction schedule and the final capacity of the facility when FIT rates are finalized.

What to learn from this?

As at end-March 2012, Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tepco, has shut down its last operating nuclear reactor. PV Magazine reported that Tepco shut down the number six reactor at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, the world's biggest nuclear power plant. Since the Fukushima disaster, Japan's 54 reactors have been still, due to public safety concerns. Tepco owns 17 reactors and provides approximately 45 million people with electricity. 

Japan is moving towards cleaner sources of energy while trying to minimise its dependance on nuclear power, if not totally eliminating it. Japan may be rich and our resources will never be able to match theirs. 

But if we plan and focus on our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% comes 2020, we may be rewarded with more percentage of RE in our national power generation mix.

Solar Powered SK Pulau Sepanggar

Welcome to Pulau Sepanggar.

In June last year myself and a group of other enthusiasts visited one of the nearby primary school under government rural electrification project, SK Pulau Sepanggar. The visit was scheduled during school holidays as we would not want to interfere with the school activities.

According to its web site, the school is a Grade A rural school with more than 400 students, 25 teachers and 4 non-academic staff. Quite a big number for an organisation located outside the urban boundary.

The reason we visited this school is that this is a site of a government funded 25kWp solar photovoltaic installation nearest to Kota Kinabalu. It takes about 25 to 30 minutes to reach there by speed boat.

Prior to the visit I had been in touch with Schneider Electric for quite sometime and one of the key areas I am keen to explore is Renewable Energy. With the kind of working environment we are currently in, the two RE initiatives that are likely to be of immediate interest to us are Solar PV and Mini Hydro power. After much examination of the Government incentives on FIT via SEDA, we decided that Solar PV is most appealing and profitable. To start of with, under the Malaysian FIT scheme, the base rate for Solar PV is RM1.40/kWh.

30 minutes of bumpy ride and we have now landed on an island called Pulau Sepanggar. Most houses are built on the seashore.

The power supply system here is a hybrid of solar and a diesel generator (genset). The system combines two energy sources and it interchanges the source automatically according to the weather of the day. 

How Solar-DG Hybrid Works

During daytime and when the weather is fine, power is supplied solely by the solar modules, including recharging of the storage battery. For the installation at SK Pulau Sepanggar, the battery is designed to sustain supply of power for a continuous 3 days without having to start the stand-by Genset on. In the worst case scenario that it continues to rain or overcast for longer period, the Genset will kick in and take over the job of the solar modules, including recharging of battery.

Power System Summary

Location: SK Pulau Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu

Owner:  Ministry of Education Malaysia

How to get there: By boat, about 30-minutes ride 

Design capacity: 25kWp, consists of one array of 10kWp modules and one array of 15kWp modules

Generator set: 3-Phase, 40kVA fully automated operations

PV Solar panel: SolarWorld, USA

PV Solar panel capacity: 165W +/- 3%

Arrangement: 9 panels in each array; total of 17 arrays

Inverter: Xtender, XTH-6000 series

Battery maker: FIAMM, deep cycle. Made in Czech Republic.

Battery capacity at 10 Hrs rate: 1850Ah to 1.8VPC

Communication: SCADA link to JKR IPsolar

The 25kWp solar hybrid installation; constructed within the school compound.



Top view of the solar panel arrays

Battery Bank A - special deep cycle wet batteries

40kVA Diesel generator acts as standby power supply, kicking in only when solar modules are unable to supply enough, and storage battery runs out of juice.

Nothing to do with the Solar PV system here but it probably adds greenery to an already eco-friendly initiative on the island. In any case, this should make great sunrise shots.

Personal Observations

The installation on the island was funded by the Government and we understand it was costly. For a private entity to embark on such initiative would not make business sense just yet as currently solar panels and storage battery are still very expensive. But with the FIT framework just put in place last year, it is very interesting to find out if investing in a larger system can generate ROI sooner than expected. For our initiative back home, it is possible to install a solar PV with a capacity of between 700kWp to 800kWp at each site.

Abbreviation:
DG - diesel generator
FIT - feed-in tariff
kWp - kilowatt peak
PV - photovoltaic
RE - renewable energy

Dare to Design your own House?

In the local scene, one of the hot topics among people of different trades lately is the Upside-down House in Borneo. This will be the third entry for me and I am not sure yet if this is the last. Not because I like the catchy, unique idea nor because I'm originated from the small town where this structure is built. It's something else - I am a go-green person.

Structural and architectural design were scrutinised and environmental-friendliness of the building was questioned. I like the work of the architect and the use of wooden fittings (or at least wood like) that blends well with the environment.

For those thinking that they can do better than the folks up there, try comparing how cladding systems in a building that you think would look better. To the non-technical readers but just want their future homes  to look great, you may want to read further. Cladding systems can be formulated to enhance the visual appearance of the building significantly. Does it look great, the Upside-down house? I think it looks decent. Not great, just decent enough.

Speaking of being environmentally friendly, and taking into account the fact that this building is meant to attract tourists, the developer could have incorporated some educational elements in the structure such as fixtures that promote energy efficiency, hence lesser carbon footprint. This could then be one of the subject the tour guide can talk about during the guided tour.

Hong Kong to Create 25 Man-made Islands?

Early this month, AFP reported that Hong Kong government had proposed to create 25 man-made islands off the city's coast.

Image source: Google Map

It said that in a desperate attempt to ease land shortage, officials proposed the creation of a 1500-hectare man-made giant island and 24 other smaller islands on Wednesday.

If constructed, the artificial island would have an area larger than the island reclaimed for Hong Kong's international airport and would require claiming land from sea up to 14.5 metres deep, the government said.

Of course, environmentalists in Hong Kong and particularly WWF was right in voicing its concern as this would inevitably affect the city's natural shorelines.

We are blessed with bigger and less densely populated country compared to Hong Kong. Malaysians own bigger land area to build houses and plant crops. People in the more developed city of Hong Kong don't have this kind of luxury. Property prices in Hong Kong soared last year due to shortage of land and leader Donald Tsang vowed to boost the city's land supply in ways he sees fit.

While WWF Hong Kong is closely monitoring such proposal and development, we Malaysians are taking the more laid-back approach when it comes to public response to people's poor treatment to the soil.


We have beautiful hills for paragliding whatever activities and it is our responsibility to preserve the floral beauty of our land...

Newly found paragliding spot in Tamparuli, Sabah

Instead, we cut them indiscriminately first and foremost for personal gain...

Hill cutting is rampant, particularly in Penampang Sabah

And we cut trees at pleasure...

Why would they chop off non-obstructing trees in Tg. Aru?

Perhaps we will start thinking and listening when every city in our country is submerged by flash floods. By then, we may be able to realise that we have only ourselves to blame for such disaster.

Hong Kong citizens are always on alert and I believe the government will pull through the situation where they need to strike a balance between nature conservation and development.

What about us? The least we can do is to report activities that we feel are damaging the environment. I don't travel a lot and I can only see what's happening in and around my place. You can do your bit for your respective areas; take a shots or two and highlight your concerns through media of your choice.

Testing of Feed-in Tariff Application

Poor Very poor response.

That was my conclusion of the 3-day Gamma Testing of Feed-in Tariff Application on the e-FiT Online System. Only 50 nos feedback received as at the time of this posting, including myself.

My response page to SEDA

Say, 10% of the population (28.3mil in 2010) is aware of the Government Renewable Energy (RE) initiative and incentives. That would be 2.83 million and as we don't expect every 'aware' person to respond we'll take a 1% as poor. A humble one percent is 28,000 but would you actually believe that out of 100 persons being aware of a rewarding initiative only 1 or less person would respond?

If I tell 100 farmers that I have been blessed yesterday with a lot of money and I would reward anyone for planting paddy according to a prescribed method and for achieving certain quantity of rice produced, I am quite sure half of them would at least ask what sort of reward and how much can they expect to get in return.

In the case of Malaysia Feed-in Tariff, the lack of response from the public is a strong indication that the population at large is not aware of such reward program. What we hear on the mainstream media is the government's commitment to reduce the CO2 emission and the policies drafted to achieve this. What we don't hear is that you and me can take part in achieving this and at the same time reaping monetary benefit from our participation.

Energy Commission is quite aggressive in promoting energy efficiency in this country, and SEDA should emulate EC's effort by:

1. Conducting nationwide workshops, seminars and trainings on Renewable Energy initiatives, its objectives and their benefits to the people,
2. Gamma test - redo the gamma test during weekdays, after publicizing it through the mainstream media,
3. Advertisement - consider this as business venture and advertise it periodically. Don't keep things at SEDA office.

I have mentioned nationwide but I'll stress it again that SEDA need and must conduct seminars and promotional activities in Sabah and Sarawak. After all these two are the least served states in Malaysia in terms of electricity supply.

Give them alternatives to generate their own electricity through Renewable Energy.

World Population hits 7 Billion

Think about this:

A screen shot of the live updates at the time this entry was posted (1-11-2011).
Source: Worldometers

On Monday the United Nations officially declared a baby born in the Philippines as the world's 7 billionth occupant. According to the statement, Danica May Camacho was born just after midnight Monday at a local hospital in Manila. After declaring her the honorary 7 billionth inhabitant of the planet, U.N. officials presented the baby's parents with a scholarship for her education and a financial package to help them open a general store.

The world's population has doubled in the past 50 years, and the 6 billionth occupant was officially born Oct. 12, 1999, in Bosnia - just about 12 years ago.


As shown in the graph below, the world population is increasing at accelerated pace since 1950 and if this trend continues we will have a population of 10 billion by 2050.

Source: USA Today

So, what does this mean to us?

It is inevitable there will be an increase in the demand on the world's natural resources and that increase would be exponential. Many of these are already under tremendous pressure from current rate of depletion.

Essential things like water, coal, oil and gas, phosphorus (for plants to grow), rare earth elements such as neodymium (e.g. for electricity generation, etc) will become scarce and as smart as we humans are, there will certainly be a melt-point somewhere not too far away from now where the graph will plot into a plateau.

In short, looking from science point of view, how well we cope with increasing population depends much on how well we manage our WATER, FOOD and ENERGY.

So, as you think of water, food and energy, think green. Act and treat our earth with our children's children in mind.

Which Country is the Greenest?

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a method of quantifying and benchmarking the environmental performance of a country's policies.

The 2010 EPI ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators covering environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national government scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals.

So, firstly there must be an established goals, then there will be a measurement or audit to see how close a government is to these goals. The following is the ranking of countries in the Asia Pacific, according to study by Yale University (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy):

You maybe wondering how the scores are harmonised to facilitate cross-country comparison when different countries may have different policies. This is done through EPI's proximity-to-target methodology.


Let's take a look at countries nearer to us and see how well we fared.

Singapore tops the ASEAN ranking

ASEAN countries are doing fairly well when compared to many other countries in Asia Pacific region with Singapore scoring just behind New Zealand and Japan. Malaysia makes it to Top Ten in the list.

With the many green incentives, pledges and the countless on-going efforts towards greener environment by the current government, I believe Malaysia will leapfrog a couple of countries above it come next year's audit result. Judging from the works in place now, Malaysia should score at least 66 to 69 in EPI this year. My only wish is that the implementation of the FiT for four renewable energy sources is kicked of earlier by 4Q this year rather than 1Q 2012.

So, which country is the world's greenest?

The top spot for 2010 goes to Iceland due to its high scores on environmental public health whereby it gets virtually all of its power from renewable sources (hydropower and geothermal energy), and its water tight control of greenhouse gas emissions. Switzerland is ranked second followed by Costa Rica.

FEW Willing to Pay to go GREEN

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Only 1 in 5 Malaysian consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

That is according to a global study by analysis firm Nielsen, and it's pretty low an appetite for greener products on our part.

According to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Environment and Sustainability Survey, 9 out of 10 Malaysian consumers show awareness and concern for environment pollution but 20% would actually be willing to pay more towards contributing to a greener world if it cost more to purchase environmentally friendly products.

There were 51 countries worldwide surveyed online and Malaysia ranked 9th in terms of consumer worries about the impact of air pollution and global warming. In this respect, Malaysians have shown good improvement compared to the last poll conducted in 2009. But being aware and concern is useless if they are not coupled with a commitment of sort, and this is where we are still lagging behind other countries.

What this means to the green industry is that this findings will have big implications for retailers and manufacturers looking to invest in environmentally-featured products to meet consumer needs.

I remember a quote by our State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun, "...that it is about time we start paying to view cultural shows and performances so that not only will our cultures be preserved but it will become a self-sufficient industry..." or thereabout, and I fully agree with him.

It is about time we pay a little more for eco-friendly products. Hopefully this, together with the incentives given by the government will bring down further the cost of producing such goods.

Read more about Nielsen's 2011 Global Online Survey here.

So there, for every five Malaysians out there, only one is willing to buy the more expensive green products. Could that person be you?

Buy 5-Star Appliances and get some Rebates for yourself

I recall my previous post in June 2011, titled It Pays to Go Green and very little information was available about the SAVE program back then.

I know this piece of info has since been updated by by the government for a while now but I'll mention it here anyway. 

The RM200 rebate for refrigerators and RM100 for air-conditioners is currently on going on a first-come-first-served basis.

If you are currently living in Sabah, the quota is 3,670 units (refrigerator) and 3,946 units (air-con). The biggest beneficiaries are those living in Selangor (17,315 and 11,601 units respectively). Not that many but if you are an early bird chances are you will benefit from this initiative.


HOW DO I QUALIFY?

This is the excerpt from a lengthy PDF document produced by the ministry. To qualify, the applicant must be:

i) a Malaysian, and
ii) a domestic electricity user. That's all!

a) Refrigerators:

• Peninsular Malaysia – domestic consumers using an average of 6 months electricity consumption between 200 to 400 kWh per month

• Sabah and Sarawak - open to all domestic consumers

b) Air conditioners – open to all domestic consumers in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.


You are entitled to the rebate only once for each appliance, and this is valid for purchase of 5-Star refrigerators and air conditioners approved by Energy Commission. So, look out for the following labels:



If RM200 is not of an issue to you (it is to me), than this is obviously not for you but please help me and our mother earth to spread the news. Energy efficient equipment use less energy to produce the same level of comfort and they definitely leave less carbon footprint.

For complete list of appliances (Brands) that qualify for the rebate, visit EE Appliance Listing. The recommended retail prices are quite competitive.

To view the detailed information on the SAVE program and how you can claim your rebate, take a look at the ministry's SAVE Program Guidelines For Consumers.

Buy 5-Star aircon/fridge, save some money + pay less monthly utility bill = help mother earth survive another day.


Happy Saving!

More carrots for you to Go Green

[News clipping from Daily Express, 8th June 2011]

You read that correct, it's more carrots and less sticks for you to go green.

In case you missed this piece of news, in brief, it talks about the government's plan to enable you to get financing so that you can generate extra income through installation of solar PV at home.


In summary:

Standard houses require average : 3kWp to 4kWp
Cost of solar power per kWp       : RM15,000
Thus, each house need about     : RM45,000 to RM60,000

It did not give further details but from my conversation with a couple of industry players, one can get up to 90% financing, which means down payment of only RM4,500 to RM6,000. Furthermore, the cost per kWp of solar PV is decreasing rapidly in tandem with technological advancement. In fact, according to one system integrator, as of today (June 2011) the cost per kWp is already down to RM14,000.

Implementation may not be that fast as application will only be open to the public in 3Q and possibly implemented in 4Q of this year.

I mentioned 'less stick' earlier on, let me explain. Application to install solar PV at home is on quota and first-come-first-served basis. Let's assume you successfully get the allocated power aggregate for this year's implementation. Terms and Conditions states that you MUST install your system this year as indicated in the agreement. In case you decide not to install, you will not get 'caned', you merely pass the opportunity to someone else.

If you decide to 'pass' this opportunity to someone else, you've missed on the opportunity to generate extra income while sitting doing essentially nothing.

If you feel like reading, view the full story here by Bernama.

More Incentives for Renewable Energy

[Picture from Google]

Firstly, my apologies for the slight mis-information in my previous article "Generate electricity at home and earn money".

In that article I stated "SESB will pay you up to RM1.75/unit for all “net” kWh your solar system feed-back to SESB grid"

Not so.

I met with Ungku Abdul Rahman (the Director of Power Technologies Sdn Bhd) a couple of days back and he mentioned that SESB will pay you the whole amount of energy produced at home and not the "net" kWH fed-back to their grid. Power Technologies S/B is one of the active turnkey Contractors for implementation of solar power systems in Malaysia. They are based in Shah Alam, Selangor.

What this means is that SESB will still bill you for the amount of energy consumed but at the same time pays you for whatever amount of energy generated by your home Solar System. This, according to him is the net effect of the recently enacted Renewable Energy (RE) Act 2010.

If you read my previous article, you might be pleasantly surprised that what you read in this updated article is a betterment of that information.

For example (previous figures re-used):

If your Solar System produced 200kWh this month and your energy consumption is 150kWH,

• SESB bills you : RM20.40 (40kWH x RM0.24, 110kWH x RM0.18)
• FIT, you get : RM350 (200kWH x RM1.75) RM1.75 is the max possible FIT rate.
• Your INCOME = RM329.60 (RM350.00 - RM20.40)

Of course you'll still need to service your bank loan, so, this "Income" is not net yet. I mentioned bank loan as you are eligible to take up financing from any of the commercial bank around for setting up of the residential solar system.

The initial capital expenditure looks daunting but taking into account the government incentive, the bank financing, the return of investment, the guaranteed 21 years of FIT, it really is worth looking into.

FIT: feed-in tariff

Dont' you think Malaysia is committed to its pledge to reduce the carbon emission to help mother earth live another day?