Search

Energy plays a crucial role in human life as it is necessary for survival and enables us to perform daily activities. The passage of time has driven progress, with various tools, machines, and devices created to facilitate human affairs. Everything is very dependent on Energy. Unfortunately, the prevalent reliance on fossil fuels as the primary energy source has resulted in an environmental disparity attributed to greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, the depletion of fossil fuel reserves is a long-term concern for nations involved in fossil fuel production including Malaysia, which necessitates a delicate equilibrium between escalating energy demands and escalating pollution levels. This review paper aims to highlight the potential of renewable energy based on green hydrogen in Malaysia. The energy scenario in Malaysia has been reviewed by discussing energy demand, current population, energy policy synopsis, conventional energy sources, carbon emissions, and the direction of renewable energy in Malaysia. Besides, the conceptual framework for hydrogen as renewable energy was discussed covering the hydrogen economy, production technology, storage, and energy production using green hydrogen. Finally, potential applications for using hydrogen energy have been presented so that the future direction of using this alternative energy can be well planned in Malaysia. •An overview of hydrogen energy as Malaysian alternative energy is comprehensively discussed. •The hydrogen energy prospects are described in detail such as hydrogen economy, production, and consumption. •The progress of hydrogen energy implementation in Malaysia is studied towards embarking on this effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has many dimensions, such as clean energy, green growth, and sustainable industry. Green finance has a key role in realizing these targets. The core focus of the existing paper is to demystify the influences of green finance, green energy on environmental dynamics in Malaysia covering the timeframe from 1990 to 2018. To this end, we employ the QARDL technique to peruse the effect of green finance, renewable energy, and economic growth on CO 2 emissions and ecological footprint separately. By doing so, we crosscheck the empirical outcomes and inspect the consistency of the analysis. Firstly, empirical results show that the ecological footprint model yields similar results to the CO 2 emissions model in terms of statistically significant quantile ranges and the magnitude of the coefficients. According to the overall results, GDP increases environmental degradation while green finance and renewable energy have a mitigating role. Finally, we confirm a significant EKC hypothesis for Malaysia. Based on these findings, we recommend Malaysian policymakers focus on energy efficiency, realize financial reforms and promote green energy through the financial system to achieve the 2050 net-zero emission target. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancements in space technology have enabled the acquisition of reliable marine data, facilitating research on the potential of ocean renewable energy as an alternative source that can reduce dependency on fossil fuels, subsequently mitigating climate change. However, the ocean renewable energy development in Malaysia has not received adequate attention from local authorities and communities due to low resources in this area. Insufficient in-situ data, both in spatial and temporal dimensions, poses challenges in investigating the characteristics of ocean parameters, hindering a thorough study of the potential for ocean renewable energy development. Hence, this paper aims to identify potential ocean renewable energy development locations using the altimetry data and spatial-temporal clustering using the K-means technique. Theoretically, Malaysian seas are suitable for harnessing wind and waves with energy density ranges of up to 104.69 kW/m2 and 4.21 kW/m, respectively. This study enhances the understanding of Malaysian potential for ocean renewable energy, providing valuable information to stakeholders and the government to increase their interest in ocean renewable energy as a sustainable source for electricity generation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing in oil consumption and ridiculous prices has caused the urgency for the main global oil industry players to search new alternative fuels which is biofuels. Biodiesel is better option to replace the crude oil due to its similar characteristics and sustainable. This paper will review the biodiesel produced and implementation from palm oil in Malaysia and current engine research that related to palm oil. Precedency given to the palm oil as it is main raw stock for biodiesel produced in Malaysia. Among scopes of this paper are to discuss current issues related to the palm biodiesel production and specific use in diesel engines. Another issue that arisen for Malaysia is to promote the palm oil as the alternative fuel that meets the stringent regulations and standards in Europe and North America. This paper also briefly covers the continuous global biodiesel consumption trend including the constraints that faced by Malaysia for leading the global biodiesel market with the benefits and drawbacks of palm oil biodiesel as an alternate fuel compared to the other common biodiesel sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small scale hydropower is one of the technology options to generate and supply electricity to grid off and rural applications with almost zero emission. Malaysia is blessed with abundance of water sources and receives high rain volume per year which can be used to generate power. This paper is carried out to present the potential of small scale hydropower in Malaysia and its current status at low head location and rural electrification. Moreover, the relevant research literatures for small scale hydropower technology and the challenges facing by small renewable energy power in Malaysia are also reviewed. The review of available works display that the estimated hydropower resources in Malaysia are registered to be 29,000 MW, of which 500 MW is from small (mini)-hydro power. For this, a total of 149 sites for small hydropower potential have been identified in the country and the expected potential by 2020 is 490 MW. Despite hydro-power technologies are preferable choices for energy generation in Malaysia, they have not been fully exploited yet due to some technical, economical, and institutional challenges. Therefore, this paper can provide information for further investigations on the application of small scale hydropower for rural electrification in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis gas, also known as syngas, produced from biomass materials has been identified as a potential source of renewable energy. Syngas is mainly consists of CO and H 2 , which can be used directly as fuel source for power generation and transport fuel, as well as feedstock for chemical production. Syngas is produced through biomass gasification process that converts solids to gas phase via thermochemical conversion reactions. This paper critically reviews the type of gasifiers that have been used for biomass gasification, including fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained flow and transport reactor types. The advantages and limitations of these gasifiers are compared, followed by discussion on the key parameters that are critical for the optimum production of syngas. Depending on the biomass feedstock, the properties and characteristics of syngas produced can be varied. It is thus essential to thoroughly characterise the properties of biomass to understand the limitations in order to identify the suitable methods for gasification. This paper later focuses on a specific biomass – oil palm-based for syngas production in the context of Malaysia, where palm biomass is readily available in abundance. The properties and suitability for gasification of the major palm biomass, including empty fruit bunch, oil palm fronds and palm kernel shells are reviewed. Optimization of the gasification process can significantly improve the prospect of commercial syngas production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia's framework for energy development was established in the early 1970s. Henceforth, many successive policies were introduced as potential resources for electricity generation and utilization. Currently, as a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Malaysia is sparing a number of effort to comply with the policy to meet the challenges of mitigating over-dependence on fossil fuels, reducing carbon levels, and achieving sustainable national development. This paper reviews the baseline studies on electrical energy policies and the measurement indicators used in Malaysia's electric power system. This research involves a comprehensive survey of electrical energy policies in Malaysia that focus on issues pertaining to energy supply, utilization, its environmental impact and considerations, renewable energy (RE) policies, production and consumption, energy efficiency, and feed-in tariffs. Fourteen energy indicators for sustainable development in Malaysia were investigated through the identification of energy policies in significant areas, such as reliability, safety, adequacy and cost-effectiveness of energy supply; increasing energy efficiency; minimizing environmental impact; and enhancing quality of life in terms of social well-being. The policies and the indicators are classified into different sustainable dimensions and summarized in tables along with the corresponding key references. In this study, future energy planning and options, especially in nuclear and RE programs, as well as the conflict between them, are illustrated through the overall performance relative to targets and benchmarks for past and future projections up to the year 2030. This review seeks to examine the past, present, and future policies and indicators to provide a sufficient overview of Malaysian energy policies for optimizing sustainable development. The goal is for this review to lead to increased efforts to accommodate the increasing demand for the management and utilization of RE, promote energy efficiency, and improve performance in achieving sustainable national development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic change, dramatic population increase and rapid industrial growth are major trends emerging in Malaysia. Climate change and depletion of fossil fuel along with the rise in petroleum prices have forced the Malaysian Government to rethink strategies to be more in line with other developed countries including the decision to embark on renewable energy (RE) resources as a better source of energy amongst the global energy mix. The Malaysian Government is making frantic efforts to make policies, RE programmes and incentives more effective so as to promote and develop the use of RE. Malaysia is rich with fossil fuel but these are fast depleting. Although RE is necessary, current RE resources are still not enough. Therefore, exploration into other resources must be considered in order to meet future energy demands. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential of available renewable energy resources in Malaysia as well as the country׳s current implementation strategies. This paper also discusses the different RE policies in Malaysia. In order to determine the potential of RE, various sources and published materials in conferences, international journals and information released by relevant government bodies and miscellaneous resources are used. This research has revealed that among all the renewable energy sources that are present in Malaysia, biomass and solar energy are the most prospective ones. Plus, renewable energy (RE) sources are quite advantageous as they are free from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related global warming effects. They can also be applied in off-grid electricity generation for rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The output power is conducted using 3D-PV model. • A new fusion of improved bi-archive multi-objective optimization algorithm is proposed. • A new hybrid MCDM method is considered to choose the most desirable configuration. • An accurate hybrid numerical method is used for validation of the proposed method. • Performance of optimum designs are evaluated for both cases: Malaysia and South Africa. Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind turbine (WT) systems are the most promising options for rural energy delivery. In the literature, numerous studies have simply considered only on economic efficiency, while maximizing dependability by a constant value for the given demand load. Moreover, a single set Pareto optimal front (PF) has been attained for the multi-objective optimization problem. Furthermore, the primary challenge of various the off-grid multiple renewable energy sources is excessive energy loss, resulting over/under sizing and a highly total cost for the system. Therefore, this paper presents a unique improved bi-archive approach to develop the diversity and convergence independently in order to find four optimum sets of PF solutions. In addition, a new integration based on best worst method (BWM) and preference ranking organization for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE II) method along with group decision making (GDM) mechanism are addressed to sort and rank the optimal sets PF solutions with full consistency ratios of the three experts opinions and high degree of stability in ranking configurations. The theoretical results based on actual hourly meteorological data in Malaysia and South Africa indicated that the suggested improved two-archive-BWM- PROMETHEE II-GDM method is not only able to construct a uniform set of Pareto optimal solutions with fast convergence and high diversity, but can also rank and select the most desired design for the PV/WT/Battery system. The optimum configurations of the two cases studies are composed of a single WT, 105 PV modules, and 69 batteries storages at zero LLP, 60185 ($) of LLC, and 13548018 (KWh) of P dump for Malaysia case study, meanwhile it composes of 16 WTs, 80 PV modules, and 69 batteries storage at zero of LLP, 66073 ($) of LCC, and 31371 (KWh) of P dump. The proposed standalone hybrid renewable energy sources system is verified and assessed in a comparison with existing hybrid methods in terms of increasing the reliability, lowering overall cost, and reducing wasted energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the growth of renewable energy sector in Malaysia, feed-in tariff (FiT) mechanism has been introduced by Malaysian government in 2011, in accordance with Renewable Energy Act 2011 and Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011. The tariff was enacted to overcome the shortcomings identified in the small renewable energy power (SREP) Program from 2001 to 2010. This paper highlighted some measures adopted to rectify the shortcomings identified during SREP, and the role of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) in achieving the above mentioned task. The paper also includes the latest progress on renewable energy projects, especially those related to solar photovoltaic system. It is predicted that solar energy will become the main source of renewable energy in Malaysia by the year 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ineffective waste management that involves dumping of waste in landfills may degrade valuable land resources and emit methane gas (CH 4 ), a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The incineration of waste also emits polluted chemicals such as dioxin and particle. Therefore, from a solid waste management perspective, both landfilling and incineration practices pose challenges to the development of a green and sustainable future. Waste-to-energy (WtE) has become a promising strategy catering to these issues because the utilisation of waste reduces the amount of landfilled waste (overcoming land resource issues) while increasing renewable energy production. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the energy and carbon reduction potential in Malaysia for various WtE strategies for municipal solid waste (MSW). The material properties of the MSW, its energy conversion potential and subsequent greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are analysed based on the chemical compositions and biogenic carbon fractions of the waste. The GHG emission reduction potential is also calculated by considering fossil fuel displacement and CH 4 avoidance from landfilling. In this paper, five different scenarios are analysed with results indicating a integration of landfill gas (LFG) recovery systems and waste incinerator as the major and minor WtE strategies shows the highest economical benefit with optimal GHG mitigation and energy potential. Sensitivity analysis on the effect of moisture content of MSW towards energy potential and GHG emissions are performed. These evaluations of WtE strategies provides valuable insights for policy decision in MSW management practices with cost effective, energy benefit, environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia, as a developing country and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is looking into inexhaustible and repeatable alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, mini-hydro and biomass. The estimated GDP at 2010 is $15,385 per capita and the economic and industrial growth of the country implies that energy demand is growing very fast. In addition, the growing prices of fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, make inevitable renewable energy solutions for the country. Geographically, Malaysia is located in a region of tropical and humid climate which provides easy access to a variety of renewable energy sources. The government of Malaysia has initiated renewable energy policies to encourage industries and individuals to employ renewable-energy-powered systems in power applications. This paper first gives a brief overview of the current status of renewable energy in Malaysia. Then it provides the energy policies, specifically the renewable energy policies in Malaysia, in Section 2 . The renewable energy programs are reviewed in Section 3. The building energy efficiency program with green aspect is provided in Section 4. Lastly, the conclusion and forecasts of this paper are given in Section 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of renewable energy is of paramount importance towards the energy security and environment integrity of Malaysia. The Malaysia government has been implementing various policies that could facilitate the advancement of renewable energy technology and increase its contribution to the national energy mix to reduce the country dependency on fossil fuels. On the other hand, due to rapid urbanization and population growth, there is also increasing concern over the high production rate of organic waste. Among the renewable energy available, biogas is of great interest due to its ability to treat organic waste and generate power addressing both concerns simultaneously. This paper aims to review some of the important policies on renewable energy followed by the emphasis on solid waste management policies towards effective implementation of biogas generation from municipal solid waste. The biogas network is divided into three phases on a life cycle basis, namely MSW as feedstock, biogas production and biogas utilization. Under each phase, several important stages were identified. Analysis was performed to identify the role of currently implemented policies as well as the lacking support and challenges. It was envisioned that with proper SWM policies, in terms of waste collection, waste segregation and allocation of resources, which can be further complemented with more financial initiatives and technical support under the RE policies, the biogas development in Malaysia can progress more efficiently. Several supportive actions needed were derived from the analysis and presented in three figures, representing each of the phase, which could constitute a solid biogas framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine renewable energy (MRE) is yet to be included in the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) system in Malaysia. However, the country is surrounded by the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea, making it suitable to harness energy in the water. Financial supports from the government are essential in developing this technology. This paper aimed to suggest appropriate FiT rates of MRE based on Net Present Value (NPV) approach. Meanwhile, the proposed FiT rates were compared with other implemented FiT rates of MRE in United Kingdom, Germany, France, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Korea. The results showed that reasonable FiT rates of MRE in Malaysia should be in the range of €0.06–0.60/kWh depending on the type of MRE technology used. The proposed tariffs were exceedingly higher than the implemented FiT rates of solar photovoltaic ranging from €0.20 to 0.28/kWh due to higher project cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable energy supply is essential for actualizing Malaysia׳s vision to become a high-income country. The current power production and demand trends show that Malaysia has a reserve margin that will only last for the next few years. This calls for further investment, research and development in the country׳s power sector in order to meet the ever increasing energy demand. The government׳s diversification policy and power sector expansion plan emphasizes on the incorporation of renewable energy sources (RESs) and other less CO 2 emitting sources like nuclear into the national energy mix. However, the environmental ramifications of this policy should be part of any future expansion plan of national grid. This paper presents a panoramic overview of the Malaysian energy sector, the energy policy revolution and the power sector expansion strategy towards secure sustainability. We want to bring into focus the benefits and challenges of Malaysia׳s power sector expansion plan with the aim of stimulating further discussion and research on the environmental ramifications of the plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, global energy consumers are addicted to fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil and coal. Although it has been anticipated that fossil fuels will be depleted soon, these fuels are still dominant as the primary source of energy in the world. Recently, many efforts have been done to substitute renewable alternative fuels to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Biomass as one of the earliest energy sources appears to be the most promising renewable energy source due to its numerous resources and its environmentally sound characteristics. Since Malaysia is agriculture based tropical country, many crops such as palm, paddy rice and sugarcane are cultivated in this region. Malaysian palm oil industry generate huge amounts of palm solid residue (PSR) biomass such as empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm fiber, shell, trunks and fronds as byproducts which are capable to be taken into account in the energy mix of the country. In this paper, an overview of the PSR generation from Malaysian palm oil industries and its social and economic effects has been given. Indeed, performance of the direct combustion of PSR in terms of PSR composition, properties, heating value, emissions and its effects on the equipment or the components of the boilers have been reviewed. It has been found that the very high moisture content of PSR of palm industry makes their collection and transportation expensive, therefore energy conversion process could be inefficient and utilization of these materials inside the palm oil mills seems more beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent surge in crude oil price, finite fossil oil resources, and environmental issues all have aroused grave concerns. The world in 2012 consumed up to 12,476.6 million tons oil equivalent and 87% of this energy came from fossil sources. Malaysia has encountered an increase in energy demand following the country׳s development and economic growth. Currently, biodiesel is one of the main options to replace petroleum-derived diesel. Thanks to its environment friendly properties and almost similar performance with fossil fuels, biodiesel sounds like a promising option. The present paper deals with available renewable energy scenarios and examines alternative energies such as biomass, solar, wind and mini-hydro energy. The purpose of using the new sources of energy is to make sure of availability of reliable and secure supply of energy for the country. The energy demand and supply are also discussed based on source and relation to the country׳s fuel diversification policy. The study evaluates Malaysia׳s status quo in energy and biodiesel market, its strengths from economic, social, and environmental viewpoints and the production of biodiesel in the country. Moreover, the country׳s potentials to become a leading producer of biodiesel are further studied. The concentration in the study is on biodiesel production in Malaysia. The main portion of raw material for producing biodiesel is palm oil as the country is among the largest producers of palm oil at international level. There are optimistic expectations that by developing biodiesel production in the Malaysia, not only will the countries׳ energy needs be met, but the country will emerge as a role model that paves the path toward more production of biodiesel all around the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The usage of wind energy as a form of renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular year by year. This technology has been applied widely in several regions in the world and already reached maturity in terms of technology, infrastructure and cost competitiveness. The performance of the wind turbine system depends upon factors such as design, aerodynamic performance and material selection. Thus, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has become crucial in evaluating the performance of wind turbine in real time. Furthermore, the application of smart material in SHM can be utilized as micro energy harvester as well. Nonetheless, the application of SHM in Malaysia׳s climate for wind turbine is still premature, especially in the approach biocomposites material towards its blade system. Several issues are highlighted in this paper such as Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), biocomposites material selection and the issue in the micro energy harvester as well. The issues are discussed and compared with the recent finding in this review. Several recommendations are suggested for future studies in benefiting the Malaysian especially on the application of wind energy to promote better green technology for tomorrow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Detailed investigation on the physicochemical characterization of Malaysian crop and agro-industrial biomass residues has been carried out to identify promising feedstock for thermochemical and biochemical energy yield. This study covered a wide range of biomass residues including oil palm frond (OPF), oil palm trunk (OPT), empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel shell (PKS), rice husk (RH), rice straw (RS) and kenaf biomass (K). From the detailed characterization studies based on proximate composition, CHNS/O analysis, calorific value and lignocellulosic content determination, physicochemical properties of biomass residues were correlated with their potential for bioenergy generation. In addition, various analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) were used to study various microscopic properties of biomass residues such as functional groups, crystallographic structure, thermal degradation and mineralogical composition, respectively. Results showed that in terms of volatile matter, the order followed was; EFB (83.42%) ˃ K (82.70%) ˃ OPT (81.46%) ˃ OPF (76.98%) ˃ RS (76.42%) ˃ PKS (69.66%) ˃ RH (66.65%). Proximate analysis revealed that RH has the highest ash content (18.82%). Notably, minimum undesirable ash material was generated by K (5.73%), EFB (6.56%) and OPT (7.71%) containing high fractions of catalytic species. PKS presented maximum thermochemical potential with higher heating value of 17.32 MJ/kg followed by K (16.66 MJ/kg), OPT (16.34 MJ/kg), RS (16.15 MJ/kg), EFB (16.07 MJ/kg), OPF (14.49 MJ/kg) and RH (14.37 MJ/kg). Due to highest apparent density and maximum content of fixed carbon as well as lignin, PKS can be an interesting energy resource in thermochemical processes. Compositional analysis revealed that OPF, OPT and K were rich in polysaccharide content with much less quantity of lignin. Based on XRD measurements, it was found that EFB and K would be more susceptible to enzymatic digestion due to lower crystallinity index (CrI) compared to other residues. We believe that these investigations could decisively contribute to a better understanding of the influence of different factors related to lignocellulosic biomass feedstock on the efficiency of conversion and biofuel potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]