Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) signed a solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kejuruteraan Cahaya Abadi Sdn Bhd (KCASB) for electricity consumption savings worth RM500,000 a year.
MATRADE chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said KCASB will implement the solar energy system installation and maintenance project at the MATRADE and Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) buildings.
“This is a big initiative we are taking, for the purpose of saving and reducing operating costs. This step is also taken to support to government’s efforts to encourage the use of solar energy as part of the initiative to improve renewable energy (RE) sources,” he said, adding that the solar installation initiative in the two buildings also aims to reduce caron emissions and support the country’s aspiration to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
According to KCASB executive director Muhammad Syafie Zainal Abidin, the solar installation works are expected to be completed this year, with a total capacity within 3.3 megawatt-peak (MWp), where the project capacity at MATRADE is 832kWp and MITEC at 2,560.32kWp.
Amidst that company’s plans to participate in the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) this year and penetrate the foreign market within two year, Syafie expressed his hopes that the cooperation will contribute in expanding KCASB’s business internationally.
“KCASB is a bumiputera company that has ventured into the solar field since 2018 and this project with MATRADE is the biggest achievement for the company (so far).
“(We are) also looking for opportunities to penetrate the overseas solar markets such as Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia,” he stated.
