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The government has set an ambitious target of renewable energy development in Malaysia. As a promising renewable energy source, wind energy plays an important role in the Malaysia renewable energy roadmap. Compared to onshore wind energy, offshore wind resources with better quality can be provided in the areas away from the coast, which has greater potential to contribute to electricity generation. Wind and bathymetry conditions are two important factors that determine the feasibility and economics of offshore wind turbines. In this paper, an investigation is conducted on wind and bathymetry conditions around Malaysia. The data source mainly originates from the Global Wind Atlas. The conditions of the coastal areas in different states and federal territories of both Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia are analysed, with a specific focus on wind speed, wind energy density, and bathymetry conditions in high-wind-speed regions. The data and survey are verified and compared with the past published literature. This paper aims to investigate the wind and bathymetry conditions around Malaysia, assess the potential of offshore wind energy, discuss the feasibility of offshore wind turbines, and provide references for offshore wind development in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a thorough review and analysis of solar photovoltaic (PV) home systems in Malaysia, offering a comprehensive exploration of their implementation, challenges, benefits, and future potential. As a nation striving to embrace sustainable and renewable energy solutions, Malaysia's adoption of solar PV systems at the residential level is of paramount importance. The study delves into the current state of solar PV deployment, government initiatives, and policy frameworks that influence adoption trends. It examines the economic, environmental, and societal advantages of solar PV home systems, outlining their contribution to reducing electricity costs, carbon emissions, and energy dependence. Addressing barriers to wider acceptance, the paper scrutinizes challenges encompassing cost, awareness, intermittency, and regulatory constraints. Furthermore, the study evaluates the socio-economic implications of solar PV home systems, including potential job creation and energy independence. Technological advancements, such as enhanced efficiency and smart grid integration, are also explored for their role in surmounting obstacles. Drawing insights from practical case studies, the paper underscores successful installations and the lessons they offer. In examining policy and regulatory frameworks, it analyzes existing incentives while suggesting improvements to accelerate adoption. Finally, the paper offers a visionary perspective on the future trajectory of solar PV home systems in Malaysia, envisioning increased affordability, advanced energy storage solutions, and seamless integration with emerging technologies. This holistic analysis contributes valuable insights to propel Malaysia's sustainable energy transition and inform strategic decision making for stakeholders across sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an alternative to fossil fuels, solar PV electricity can help mitigate global warming and improve the environment by lowering greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). More nations have developed programs to encourage the production and use of PV electricity, considering the potential of renewable energy for sustainable development. The government of Malaysia wants solar PV to be the primary source of renewable energy by 2030. To reduce global warming, renewable energy technology must be implemented more widely. However, the production of solar photovoltaic modules raises serious sustainability concerns. These concerns include using conflict minerals, toxicity, and limited supply or supply chain governance risks of rare materials. Even though solar energy projects are technically feasible, stakeholders still view the region's initiatives as risky due to ongoing governance problems. Domains related to solar project deployment that involve installation, operation, and management are particularly susceptible to governance issues, such as a lack of accountability and transparency. Renewable energy investments upfront are risky and expensive. Risks in the solar PV value chain include subpar design and manufacturing decisions, inventory losses, quality problems during the execution process, and cultural and societal problems brought on by the absence of an effective risk management system. This study thus investigates how the implementation of ERM influences the company's financial performance. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a technique that regulates, and coordinates offset risks all over the firm to manage and integrate all risks holistically. As a result, this paper provides a conceptual and theoretical framework for how corporations use risk management to lower the cost of capital and improve sustainable development in the solar PV industry. The suggested theoretical and conceptual framework, supported by stakeholder and legitimacy theory, provides a foundation for empirically validating the entangled interaction between the relevant variables. It is advocated that measuring variables such as enterprise risk management, financial performance, and sustainability performance be based on previous research and frameworks and recommendations produced by major organizations. The purpose of this paper is to guide Malaysian solar PV companies in the implementation of sustainability and risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the awareness level of university students on energy conservation by focusing on their knowledge, attitude and practice. Energy awareness is a feasible energy conservation measure, but an inappropriate approach can cause the wastage of resources. The current number of reported awareness studies especially among the university student is quite limited, and focus is more given to the awareness on renewable energy, instead of energy conservation. Design/methodology/approach: A paper-based survey using a set of questionnaires that involved 2,857 respondents. There are four sections in this questionnaire, which are basic background information of respondents, knowledge (yes/true or no/false choice of responses), attitude (a scale of 1–10, where 10 indicates "strongly agree" and 1 chooses "strongly disagree") and practices (a scale of 1–10, where 10 indicates "Always" and 1 selects "Never"). The evaluation includes the correlation analysis of all awareness variables with an educational background to disclose the most critical aspects that should be highly considered in the forthcoming awareness campaign. Findings: This research revealed that university students have a high level of awareness of energy conservation. They hold a high knowledge level and show a positive attitude with very good energy conservation practices. However, some issues require serious attention in preparing energy management plans. Effective approaches should be taken by considering the field of study, gender and family economic status to enhance the awareness level of the university students on energy conservation. Originality/value: The absence of appropriate references complicates the preparation of energy management plans including the establishment of energy policy and strategies. The findings of this research can contribute some contextual information in the local perspective to ensure the effectiveness of the energy management program and strengthen academic leadership by emphasising the element of sustainability. This is crucial for developing an energy saving culture among the young generation that will be our future scholars and leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts such as the Glasgow United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 26, the Paris Agreement (Paris agreement, United Nations, Paris, 2015) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are supporting the drive to protect the planet from global warming by ensuring sustainable development. The oil and gas industry, as key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, must transition to more sustainable energy solutions and play their part in reducing these emissions. Currently, oil and gas companies are implementing technical solutions to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The energy transition from fossil fuel reliance has also happened by exploiting alternative renewable energy sources to meet global energy demand such as wind, solar, biogas and bioderived feedstocks. This net zero energy transition will require a fair and just transition for all in society, and to implement this, it is crucial for those working in the oil and gas industry to understand the technologies needed, the importance of carbon policies and their roles. This research presents a modified Delphi study of employees in Malaysia's national oil and gas company to understand their perceptions towards a net-zero carbon future. The paper briefly reviews Malaysia's low-carbon policy plans, its current carbon dioxide accounting balance, and identifies potential technologies for decarbonisation to set the scene for the modified Delphi study. The results indicated that the national oil and gas company has both the capabilities and the financial resources to significantly contribute towards Malaysia transitioning to a carbon neutral nation. This can be achieved by implementing advanced technologies complementing with nature-based solutions to realise net zero carbon emissions. This study also portrays the confidence that the portfolio of solutions should be executed through a coordinated effort to maximise the outcome and minimise the financial impact in terms of economical sustainability. Implementation of activities towards this energy transition will require significant social commitment, and hence, gauging their perception towards this journey is key objective of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Gamini Herath and Wai Ching Poon, Monash University: b This paper examines the impact of the trade war between the United States and China on Malaysia's trade and investment, focusing on the direct impact of the tariffs on Malaysia's solar panel exports to the United States and China and the potential investment and trade diversion to Malaysia. China and the United States were important trade partners for Malaysia in 2017, accounting for 23 percent of Malaysia's total exports. The paper shows that solar panel exports to the United States have dropped, but re-exports have risen following the trade war, and Malaysia's exports and re-exports to China have increased. [Extracted from the article]

The energy demand in Malaysia has shown a dramatic increase over the last few years: with natural gas and coal being the primary contributors. Nevertheless, due to declining in fossil fuel reserves coupled with negative environmental impacts, shifting to sustainable renewable energy for meeting the future energy demand is recommended. Since Malaysia is rich with natural resources, utilization of biomass energy (bioenergy/biofuel) as the alternative energy is promising to be further explored. Therefore, this review paper intents to discuss the current scenario of different types of biomass energy in Malaysia along with the up-to-date local biomass energy–related environmental policy (from 2016 onwards). In addition, challenges and barriers for large-scale implementation of the biomass energy in Malaysia are to be discussed. Overall, this review paper is interesting as it can assist in promoting the biomass utilization as energy source, and to ensure the future growth of biomass energy market in the country along with its effective implementation while alleviating poor disposal problem and to create job employment opportunities. Furthermore, a collective effort to expand potential biomass feedstocks, apart from oil palm, should be emphasized to encourage the renewable energy production diversification in the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the meaning, motivation, and extent of Responsible Tourism Practices (RTPs) at Lower Kinabatangan; a premier ecotourism destination in Malaysia. Data were collected through 3 focus group interview sessions with 36 respondents consisting of tour operators, lodgers and homestay operators. Findings reveal that RTP is encapsulated in the sustainable tourism concept and related to the three sustainable pillars (environment, economic and social); and reflect less on responsible act and behaviour. Key themes that emerged include protection, conservation, and preservation; sustainability by minimising negative impacts on the environment, economy, and society; respecting rules and safety measures; creating jobs for locals and increasing awareness on local food, culture, and community; provision of quality tourism services; using solar power as an alternative energy source and educating staff. RTP strongly emphasises on the environment (including nature, and wildlife) and the sustainability of natural resources. Additionally, RT practices reduce negative impacts on the environment through conservation, preservation and protection. The social aspects of RT include collaboration with Sabah Wildlife Department, community support, control, and guidelines. Greater consideration is given to the environmental aspect, compared to the economic and social aspects; ethics, integrity, governance, and responsible behaviour are also not encompassed in RT. The paper provides an insightful understanding of the meaning and practices of RT from the perspective of tourism players and serves as useful baseline information to develop a manual for RTP. Further, the findings contribute to responsible tourism literature. The paper also suggests guiding principles for Economic, Social and Environmental Responsibility to make Lower Kinabatangan an ecotourism destination where wildlife and local people can co-exist with sustainable tourism businesses. Sound guidelines for RT are essential to ensure the sustainable development and growth of Lower Kinabatangan. Finally, more research and intervention programs are recommended to enhance RTPs for a balanced development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is one of the basic inputs and driving forces for economic and social development modernization. Sustainable energy supply is one of the major challenges in the modern world. Sustainable energy supply can be obtained through alternative energy sources, and efficient energy use is a high priority to optimize the environmental impact. This paper investigates the potential for energy savings involving five end-load equipment in academic institutions. The saving potential is obtained through energy efficiency analysis and feasibility analysis of the solar power generation systems. An energy audit is conducted on end-use consuming equipment (i.e., fans, lights, air conditioning, ICT equipment, etc.) in these five end-load sectors to find out the major energy-consuming equipment, energy consumption, and potential energy savings. The analysis of energy consumption per equipment helps determine the appropriate type of equipment to be upgraded and replaced for energy saving. The feasibility of rooftop solar power generation has been also analysed to integrate into the energy end load. The research findings confirm that laboratory equipment, lighting, and air conditioning are vital to energy consumption in academic buildings. The energy savings, bill savings, and carbon emissions reductions have been estimated based on integrating rooftop solar power generation. The feasibility analysis of onsite energy generation using a hybrid solar system found that the total energy-saving potential and bill savings within five years are 311,131 kWh and RM 113,563, respectively. This value refers to comprehensive energy-saving and bill for all academic buildings involved in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy is derived from natural resources and does not deplete when used. Malaysia targets to achieve 31 % renewable energy generation by 2025. The availability and reliability of renewable energy resources are highly vulnerable to climate conditions. Floods, which account for almost 40 % of natural disaster can adversely affect energy resources generation, transmission and infrastructure. Malaysia as a tropical country is especially prone to floods due to the high average rainfall it receives annually. Malaysia energy policy planning has placed more emphasis on efficiency of generation and emissions reductions. The need to adapt to flood disasters and other climatic change challenges has not been adequately addressed. Due to the flood risk in Malaysia, adaptation to climate change and disasters such as flood needs to be considered in Malaysia's energy policy planning. This paper reviews scholarly papers and news articles related to the flood phenomenon in Malaysia, and analyses the impact of flood disasters on renewable energy generation and energy policy planning in this country. The findings indicate that flood has an insignificant effect on Malaysia's renewable energy power generators as they are not located in flood-prone areas. The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is exposed to flooding during the monsoon season, is the most vulnerable to flood disasters. Most renewable energy generation facilities including biomass power stations, hydropower, and solar panels are located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and in Sabah and Sarawak. The potentially high risk of flash floods and unpredictable climate conditions in Malaysia should not be underestimated and must be duly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling wind speed has a significant impact on wind energy systems and has attracted attention from numerous researchers. The prediction of wind speed is considered a challenging task because of its natural nonlinear and random characteristics. Therefore, machine learning models have gained popularity in this field. In this paper, three machine learning approaches – Gaussian process regression (GPR), bagged regression trees (BTs) and support vector regression (SVR) – were applied for prediction of the weekly wind speed (maximum, mean, minimum) of the target station using other stations, which were specified as reference stations. Daily wind speed data, gathered via the Malaysian Meteorological Department at 14 measuring stations in Malaysia covering the period between 2000 and 2019, were used. The results showed that the average weekly wind speed had superior performance to the maximum and minimum wind speed prediction. In general, the GPR model could effectively predict the weekly wind speed of the target station using the measured data of other stations. Errors found in this model were within acceptable limits. The findings of this model were compared with the measured data, and only Kota Kinabalu station showed an unacceptable range of prediction. To investigate the prediction performance of the proposed model, two models were used as the comparison models: the BTs model and SVR model. Although the comparison of GPR with the BTs model at Kuching station showed slightly better performance for the BTs model in maximum and minimum wind speed prediction, the prediction outcomes of the other 13 stations showed better performance for the proposed GPR model. Moreover, the proposed model generated smaller prediction errors than the SVR model at all stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between renewable energy (RE), non-renewable energy (NRE), capital, labour and economic growth, using the nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag (NARDL) model in Malaysia for the period of 1980–2018. The results of NARDL confirm the asymmetric effect of RE and NRE consumption on the economic growth in the long run as well as the short run in Malaysia. The findings also show that in the long and short run, positive shocks of NRE are greater than the positive shocks of RE. It indicates that Malaysia's economic growth is highly dependent on NRE which is not a good indication as NRE consumption increases carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the country. Moreover, the empirical results of this study demonstrated that RE consumption reduction accelerates economic growth, whereas NRE consumption reduction decreases economic growth. It can have claimed that in Malaysia, RE is still more expensive than NRE. In conclusion, this study offered a variety of measures to develop RE to reduce the dependency on NRE consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper performs a concept on a new exploration of electricity generation by harvesting the kinetic energy from landing aircraft. Firstly, this paper analyzes and tabulates the current status of renewable energy sources and the conventional power generations in Malaysia's electric supply until 2017. It has been reviewed based on the demand, availability, and power production of the sources. At the same time, the locations and providers for several energy supplies have been identified with the evidence of its rated power being generated. Next, this paper also highlights the plan for achieving a low-carbon country based on the plans which have been in place between 1970 until 2017 in order to create a zero-carbon generation by 2030 for Malaysia's energy sector. Toward the end of this paper, the authors suggest a new method on decarbonization technologies for clean energy in order to reach zero-carbon generation earlier than 2030. It is by introducing a new topology of electrical power generation system using waste energy, which is kinetic energy based on landing aircraft, for the possibility of power generation for a new Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Issues concerning urban resilience have now become a great challenge to the world as a result of rapid urbanisation. Malaysia is ranked among East Asia's most urbanised countries and its urban population has continued to increase rapidly from 27 % in 1970 to 74 % in 2014. To cope with the issue of sustainability, urban planning has emerged at creating and managing network of green spaces. The establishment of green corridor has accelerated as a response to global concern about issues regarding the fragmentation, climate changes and loss of landscape connectivity resulted from the urbanisation. To ensure that network of green spaces can be established, the fragmented of green spaces must be first identified and located. An analysis of fragmented green spaces has been conducted by using Object Oriented procedure to the high-resolution satellite image of SPOT-6 dated June 2016. Results showed that big and small fragmented green spaces existed with the total area of 84 km² out of 243 km² total areas of Kuala Lumpur. The highest total area of green spaces was recorded to be in the Damansara Penchala zone which is 26 km² and the lowest record is in the Kuala Lumpur City Center area which is only 5 km² in area. It was concluded that urban green spaces are more fragmented where there are more built-up areas. In this paper, city center has the least ratio of area of green to the urban area compared to the other five zones because the green space in the area was smaller and fragmented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food waste (FW) is the largest and most problematic organic waste component in the solid waste management system around the world including Malaysia. In promoting renewable energy production, FW has enormous potential and is one of the most promising sources as it can be converted into energy due to high organic matter content found in this source. Improper handling of FW has adverse effects on humans and the environment. FW that ends up in landfills is capable of producing greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which can lead to increased atmospheric temperature, climate change, and global warming as well as causing serious health hazards. Compared to landfilling, incineration, and composting, anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered the best treatment alternative in FW management. This paper reviews the efficacy of using FW AD for energy production, focusing on the critical factors influencing the digestion process, the characteristics of the FW and their impact on the AD process, and the method of anaerobic conversion of FW (batch or continuous) to methane. To enhance the AD of FW, the co-digestion and pretreatment method will also be discussed further in this review paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Abdullah and Najib (International Journal of Sustainable Energy 35(4): 360-377, 2016) proposed an intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to deal with uncertainty in decision-making and applied it to establish preference in the sustainable energy planning decision-making of Malaysia. This work may attract the researchers of other countries to choose energy technology for their countries. However, after a deep study of the published paper (International Journal of Sustainable Energy 35(4): 362-377, 2016), it is noticed that the expression used by Abdullah and Najib in Step 6 of their proposed method for evaluating the intuitionistic fuzzy entropy of each aggregate of each row of intuitionistic fuzzy matrix is not valid. Therefore, it is not genuine to use the method proposed by Abdullah and Najib for solving real-life problems. The aim of this paper was to suggest the required necessary modifications for resolving the flaws of the Abdullah and Najib method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity generation from the sea has many advantages in comparison with other renewable energy resources. Power can be generated from new or existing barrages. Based on previous location research, a suitable system to produce tidal range energy from a potential site was developed in this paper. The main objective of this research is to calculate the energy output of the Kuching Barrage of Sarawak State of Malaysia. The daily flushing process of Kuching Barrage is conducted during the low tide period and therefore to put up the ebb generation process is appropriate. The calculated period of power generation is determined to about 6 hours. The annual energy output is calculated based on a theoretical method, with the average daily potential energy calculated to be 5.8MW and approximately 10.23GWh/year could be harnessed. This research can be beneficial for energy generation with the use of a double basin scheme for the construction of new barrages in East Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The growth of the world's population has increased energy demand. Malaysia, as a developing country, also requires significant energy to drive economic development and address population demand. Malaysian conventional power generation system is highly dependent on natural gas, coal, and oil power systems that have had significant environmental impacts. This paper explores the energy status in Malaysia to highlight the advantages of fuel cells as an advanced alternative energy source. The discussion on energy status in Malaysia involves population situation, energy demand, energy sources, and energy policies. Then, the ability and type of fuel cells to provide this advanced alternative energy source in Malaysia are described. The prospects for introducing portable fuel cell devices and residential applications have been comprehensively described as the most relevant application for the residential sector to implement this technology in Malaysia. Highlights: A comprehensive review of fuel cell systems as a source of renewable energy for the residence sector in Malaysia is presented.The introduction of fuel cell‐based portable devices and residential applications are the most relevant applications for the residence sector in Malaysia.The prospects for the introduction of fuel cells are discussed, including costs and maintenance, the plan and strategy, and the availability of a research center in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a sufficient energy supply, harvesting energy from rainfall is essential for intelligent water management. A significant part is still untapped or little exploited, which is the renewable energy produced from rainwater. This paper proposes a portable gutter of the rainwater energy harvesting system to provide electricity that may be sufficient for powering lights and charging cell phones in rainy locations with limited electricity. A prototype is designed and tested to determine the feasibility of rainwater as a source of renewable energy. The aim is to minimize and respectively suspend the use of fossil energy sources, as well as decrease the percentage of pollution as it is a cause of global warming. The system prototype consisted of a gutter assembly that collected and funneled water from the roof to a downspout. The turbine was connected through a gearbox to a DC motor serving as the generator. The device is optimal during high rainfall intensities that produce larger flow rates. A smart algorithm has been applied, which is salutary to keep the system working and has the ability to control the flow of collected rainfall water. Also, this system is useful to install and use in the rural area where the national grids are not common and the level of rainfall is high. The applied system utilized and installed in more than one hundred premises can produce more than 4 kWh for one rain. In some countries such as Malaysia, the average number of rainy days is 250 days a year, so the use of this system in 100 premises can help to provide 80 MWh to the national grid yearly. The system is characterized by simplicity of design and lack of complexity in addition to ease of installation and cheapness, which is the basis for the availability of this system for use by everyone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily human activities generate greenhouse gases. The total emission of greenhouse gases is called the carbon footprint and is expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) units. As a new educational institution, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) began to take part in an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) programme that supports the reduction in carbon emissions. In this study, the total amount of CO2 produced from UTM during 4 years was measured under three categories: (1) the emissions from the fleet of university vehicles for public transportation, (2) the electricity and water emissions, and (3) the emissions produced by staff and student transportation, waste generation, paper, and maintenance by contractors. The special evaluation method is an alternative method to calculate greenhouse gases and measures all elements/sources of greenhouse gases under the same functional unit. This reference helps the assessor to avoid the double measurement of anthropogenic gases. The study results demonstrated that air transportation utilised by university students and employees and electricity usage contributed to 34.74%, 19.37%, and 18.19% of the carbon emissions, respectively. The total CO2 emissions from the three sources over 4 years were 48.442 MT. The data on the carbon footprint of the university can form the basis for monitoring, evaluation, and regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia. Moreover, the university constructed and operates a smart house, a large solar parking lot with a capacity of 10 MW, uses solar and wind-powered lighting, and encourages the use of bicycles and electric scooters to achieve an annual reduction in the total CO2 emissions intensity. The results of this study suggested that a carbon reduction project could encourage university members and public society to an understanding of the environment and allowing UTM to become a centre of excellence for the operation of a green campus for urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a developing country, Malaysia's prosperity and welfare depends heavily on having access to reliable and secure supplies of energy. As a result, the country's future energy requirements have become a policy priority in recent years. Energy is essential for human life, and a secure and accessible supply of energy becomes important for the modern societies. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are currently the world's primary energy sources and continue to provide energy source to the world. These energy sources have depleted in reserves in recent years and they can also cause irreparably damage to the environment such as global warming and climate change. These environmental concerns can be addressed, to some extent, through more sustainable solutions such as the use of renewable energy resources. In Malaysia, the economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuels use have become hard to ignore. The government has introduced and implemented policy measures to address concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy use. In this paper, we review the historical evolution of Malaysian energy policies and initiatives designed to secure diverse energy sources and avoid over-reliance on fossil fuels. In recent years, Malaysia has been catching up with global call to shift to renewable energy use and is now putting a focus on renewable energy in its future energy mix. The paper also discusses challenges and concerns over the future of sustainable energy of the country. [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]

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]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent religious work values such as Islamic work values (IWVs) could have an influence on sustainable work behaviours and sustainable energy consumptions among employees in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through survey questionnaires. The sample consisted of 264 Muslim employees who work in the private and public organisations in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was conducted using a second-order model.Findings The results showed that religious values (i.e. IWVs) have a significant relationship with sustainable work behaviours and sustainable energy consumptions. The effect on sustainable work behaviours was stronger than its effect on sustainable energy consumptions.Practical implications This study suggests that the policy makers and pundits should pay attention to employees rather than focussing on just the CEO or the managers as the key players in the industries. This would help reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses and other environmental degradations.Originality/value With regard to sustainability, past studies have mostly used general values rather than religious values in analysing work behaviours or energy consumptions. Furthermore, most previous studies have used behavioural intentions in their theory and concepts when explaining sustainable behaviours. This study extends the literature by conceptualising the value-attitude-behaviour theory which focusses on actual behaviours rather than on intentions in explaining the effect of religious work values on sustainable behaviours and energy consumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy sources have increasingly become important in recent decades not only as ways for improving energy security and mitigating climate change, but they also help contribute to economic growth and job creation. As the second-largest producer of crude palm oil, Malaysia has abundance of biomass residues from palm oil industries and other renewable organic matters which can be converted to bio-energy and bio-chemicals. Recognizing the roles of biomass for sustainability and wealth creation, the government has stepped up efforts to promote the growth of the industry. However, despite institutional arrangements, policy frameworks, funding mechanisms and incentives to support the growth of the biomass industry, the industry has not been able to create value along the industry's value chain. While there are many attractive reasons to venture into the biomass industry, there are also potential risks. Lack of understanding of risks associated with the biomass industry is often cited as one of the reasons for the industry's slow growth. An industry evolves through life cycle stages and at each stage presents risk factors. This paper identifies several key risks associated with early stage of the biomass industry in Malaysia. The overview of risks associated with the biomass industry not only will provide a perspective from which an industry's viability can be evaluated but also will help industry participants to better understand key risks and improve their risk assessment methods as well as plan their risk management and mitigation strategies more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the effects of densification at varied pelletization temperatures on the novel Malaysian Khaya senegalensis wood-derived pellets biomass fuel characteristics. The lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the biomass fuel characteristics of this species prompted the research. By addressing this knowledge gap, this study explores the impact of temperature variations on key fuel properties, contributing to the optimization of sustainable biomass fuel production in manufacturing and materials processing. Khaya senegalensis wood, grown and harvested in Malaysia, was pelletized at different temperatures to analyze the calorific value, volatile matter content, ash content, fixed carbon, bulk density, and moisture contents of the pellets. The experimental data revealed a significant relationship between temperature and these fuel properties. Pelletizing at 75 °C produced the highest calorific value of 19.47 MJ/kg and the maximum fixed carbon content of 10.04%. A low ash level of 4.26% was achieved via pelletizing at 75 °C. According to the results, 75 °C produced the best thermophysical properties. These findings provide valuable understanding of how pelletization temperature influences fuel pellet thermophysical properties, a critical aspect in optimizing fuel pellet production, storage, advancing renewable energy resource utilization, and, finally, promoting a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. [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]

The aim of this paper was to examine the characteristics ofEucheuma cottoniiwaste in order to analyse its potential as renewable material. The morphology ofEucheuma cottonii(raw and wastes) was investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the thermal behaviour through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the physical properties through FT-IR, XRD, gas pycnometer, particle size analyser, water absorption and moisture content analysis. The chemical compositions were determined by using acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) analysis. It was found thatEucheuma cottoniiwastes have better thermal stability, higher crude fibre content, lower moisture content and similar density to the rawEucheuma cottonii, which suggests that these biomass wastes have good potential as renewable filler material. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper embarks on the evolution of green economy approach to support the increasing food commodity expenses by adapting Solar Photovoltaic (PV) as the suitable renewable energy technology for Natural Resource Management (NRM). The crops for cash trend and continuously decreasing market price in solar technologies are highlighted with strong effort by Malaysian Government through Renewable Energy (RE) policy and National Key Economy Area (NKEA). Reviews on the benefits of solar dryer technologies in crop production and agrobusiness are presented with highlights on high value herbal crops (HVHc) and some potentials of high-performance solar dryer technology. [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]

This paper explores several renewable energy sources to help Malaysia reduce its carbon footprint. Accordingly, this study employs a partial equilibrium model to examine the potential of the Malaysian agricultural sector to supply biodiesel, bioethanol, and bioelectricity on a commercial scale to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG). The model includes the fourteen agricultural commodities of Malaysia. The results show that bioethanol is economically feasible with its fossil fuel counterpart, while bioelectricity is almost economically feasible. Both bioethanol and bioelectricity have the potential to offset significant GHG emissions of fossil fuels. Furthermore, this study finds that biodiesel has little mitigation on GHG emissions and cannot compete with diesel. Biodiesel also would expand the agricultural industry, which could raise agricultural prices and hasten deforestation. Therefore, the Malaysian government should further study bioethanol and bioelectricity as two candidates to supply renewable energy and help the nation meets its GHG commitment under the Paris Agreement. This study highlights further research for cellulosic ethanol because it is still in the experimental stage. • The results show that Malaysia could develop a large-scale renewable energy sector by producing bioelectricity or bioethanol from waste biomass. • Bioelectricity and bioethanol could help Malaysia reduce its carbon footprint and meets its commitment of the Paris Agreement. • The results indicate that palm biodiesel is not cost-competitive with diesel and shows modest reductions in carbon emissions. • Large-scale biodiesel production may raise agricultural prices and hasten deforestation. [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]

In recent years, extreme weather events lead to reducing the supply of renewable energy sources, which contributes to the global energy crisis. Due to the long hours and high intensity of solar radiation during the day, buildings require a large amount of energy to lower the indoor air temperature in Malaysia. Shading devices are an important strategy for reducing building cooling loads. The form and materials of shading devices are two crucial factors that affect their effectiveness. This study aims to explore the potential of construction materials used for shading devices in improving the energy efficiency of these devices through a case study conducted in a northwest-facing room located on the campus of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia. To explore energy-efficient materials for shading devices, the building can be modelled using EnergyPlus building simulation software and OpenStudio software. By employing these tools, the indoor air temperature can be calculated for different materials of shading devices during the spring equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and winter solstice. The indoor air temperature can be reduced by up to 2.8 °C when using concrete shading devices compared with no shading devices. The results indicate that implementing shading devices in tropical regions can significantly reduce indoor air temperatures and improve energy efficiency. However, among the three commonly used materials for shading devices in Malaysia, their impact on enhancing energy efficiency is minimal, with wood resulting in the lowest indoor air temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power quality issues arise in electrical networks when variable renewable energy (VRE) is integrated into them due to their random and intermittent nature which depends on weather conditions and other factors. The variation of solar irradiance throughout the day affects the energy produced by solar panels and the integration of solar power into electrical networks will result in changes and fluctuations in the voltage profile of buses. Reactive power compensation is required to improve the bus voltage levels of the electrical network to be within the required limits and the optimal allocation of reactive power compensation devices in the network is a complex problem to be investigated for the optimum injection of reactive power to obtain better voltage profiles for the entire network. This research investigated the penetration of variable solar energy into an electrical network in terms of voltage and reactive power flow. A variety of literature was reviewed in the scope of reactive power management in power systems and a gap in addressing the optimal allocation of compensation devices in the IEEE-14 bus was addressed based on the proposed methods followed by discussions of the results in terms of voltage profiles and reactive power flow in the buses. The objective is to produce an output power of higher quality and reliability for the loads so that intermittent sources of renewable energy can be more competent with energy sources such as fossil fuels that do not depend on weather conditions. Integration of methods using compensation optimisation (optimal allocation of capacitors) and volt-var regulation (smart inverter) to improve the voltage profile that was dropped and the fluctuations after penetration of solar power were carried out. A solar bus with variable energy generation was connected to the IEEE-14 bus to study the voltage variations. This was executed by the power flow calculation module to determine the voltages and reactive power in the buses of the network. With the optimum allocation of the capacitors, the voltage levels in all weak buses of the IEEE-14 bus were increased to be between 0.95 p.u. and 1.05 p.u. which was the voltage specifications of the Malaysian Grid Code Requirements. The voltage for every weak bus in the IEEE-14 bus showed a rise of 5.7% from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. With that, the volt-var function was used for reactive power regulation at the point of common coupling (PCC) and a reduction of voltage deviation of 2.828 to 1.3% in the IEEE-14 bus was observed. The average voltage profile of all buses managed to attain a value of 98.99% from 95.673% (with solar power) with the optimal allocation of capacitors and volt-var regulation. The beneficiaries of this project will be the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) which administers the Net Energy Metering (NEM) scheme and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) which is the Malaysian multinational electrical company focused primarily on the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Peninsular Malaysia. The Energy Commission and Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources are also beneficiaries as they carried out a competitive bidding programme for large-scale solar (LSS) known as the LSS@MEnTARI or LSSPV4 to attain bids for the development of around 1000 MW AC of LSS power plants to be operational in Malaysia by 2022. This work will also be beneficial in future research in planning reactive power compensation devices in networks of multiple VRE sources, communication, and coordinated control of smart inverters, and incorporation of these devices for smart grid applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to environmental issues and the upward trend of fossil fuel prices, the study of renewable energy (RE) based generation and their effects on the electrical system has become an important part of the government's energy policies and university projects. In RE generation, as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are modular, silent, and transportable and demonstrate ease of installation, they have attracted a greater amount of attention specifically in those areas which receive considerable average solar radiation per day such as Malaysia. However, connecting solar PV farms to the grid like any other distributed generation (DG) units poses serious issues which arise in the distribution network. This paper presents a novel fault location algorithm based on the recording of short circuit power values at the primary substation of unbalanced radial distribution networks including PV systems. The recorded values are evaluated by a designed and tuned multi-layer feed forward neural network and the fault distances from the source are estimated accordingly. In order to highlight the accuracy of the presented method, the scenario is also repeated by recording the peak values of short circuit current which have been mostly used in the published intelligent fault location studies and the obtained results via two different values are compared with each other. The results reveal that the presented algorithm using a small scale input set is able to precisely locate different fault types in the unbalanced distribution networks including DG units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption for developing countries is sharply increasing due to the higher economic growth due to industrialisation along with population growth and urbanisation. The increasing demand of energy leads to global energy crisis. Selecting the best energy technology and conservation requires both quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria. The fuzzy set-based approach is one of the well-known theories to handle fuzziness, uncertainty in decision-making and vagueness of information. This paper proposes a new method of intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IF-AHP) to deal with the uncertainty in decision-making. The new IF-AHP is applied to establish a preference in the sustainable energy planning decision-making problem. Three decision-makers attached with Malaysian government agencies were interviewed to provide linguistic judgement prior to analysing with the new IF-AHP. Nuclear energy has been decided as the best alternative in energy planning which provides the highest weight among all the seven alternatives. [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]

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]