KUALA LUMPUR: Salcon Bhd, in which Berjaya Corp Bhd holds an indirect 5.43 percent equity interest, is expanding its presence in the country's solar energy sector.
Its subsidiary, Fortune Command Sdn Bhd (FCSB), held through its Renewable Energy (RE) arm, Inergist Sdn, has entered into a solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) with HeveaBoard Bhd.
Under the SPPA, FCSB will be responsible for establishing a 25-year built-own-operate solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a total capacity of 862.5 kWp on the rooftops of HeveaBoard's particleboard production facilities in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.
In a joint statement yesterday, both companies announced that the solar PV system will be fully operational by the first half of 2024. The goal is to generate around 26.25 million kWh of clean energy during its operational tenure, equivalent to planting over 27,000 trees or reducing average CO2 emissions by over 680 tonnes per year, they said.
Michael Leong, the group chief financial officer of Salcon, expressed gratitude to HeveaBoard's management team for placing their trust in the company since their initial collaboration in 2021 for the development of the inaugural solar assets of 1.48 MW at HeveaPac Sdn Bhd.
"At Salcon, our unwavering commitment lies in delivering excellence and quality while consistently advancing our pursuit in the field of renewable energy," he said.
Leong said the company will continue to invest for the future via Inergist and is seeking collaborations with like-minded partners who share the same vision of integrating clean energy solutions into their operations, promoting sustainability, and forging a greener path.
Salcon's RE portfolio has been expanding since 2012, beginning with the 5MW solar PV systems in the southern UK, followed by the commissioning of the 1.48MWp solar generating facilities under the NEM 2.0 on a build-own-operate basis in 2021.
In August 2023, the company was awarded a 7.0 MW solar PV project under the Corporate Green Power Program (CGPP) by the Energy Commission.
Meanwhile, Heveaboard will have more than 3.0MWp of solar renewable energy with the installation of this latest solar PV system in the company's particleboard manufacturing facility, according to its group managing director, Yoong Hau Chun.
Among all the green energy initiatives undertaken by HeveaBoard, solar energy will be the biggest green initiative of the company in terms of electricity savings, he said.
"The utilisation of solar energy will not only lower our operational costs. It will also reduce the carbon footprint of our daily business operations," Yoong said.
The project will be developed under the Net Energy Metering 3.0 ("NEM 3.0") scheme implemented by Sustainable Energy Development Authority ("SEDA") Malaysia. Under this scheme, any excess energy generated will be exported via the Supply System to the Distribution Licensee, and credit will be received to offset part of the electricity bill payment of the
consumers.