Potential of solar farm development at UTM campus for generating green energy

Abstract

Energy is an important element in human life. Previous study discovered that buildings consume more than 40% of global energy mainly electricity and emit 1/3 of global greenhouse gas (GHG) through combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Nowadays, global warming is major issue facing the world and it leads to a better awareness about renewable energies as alternatives in generating electricity. In certain countries, solar farm has been adopted as an alternative in producing electricity. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) spending millions of money yearly for electricity bills. UTM could consider solar farm as an energy option in generating green electricity due to suitable climate and huge land bank. Furthermore, Government's incentives and decreasing photovoltaic (PV) panel price are opportunities to be appreciated for UTM to implement solar farm. However, high initial investment is needed to construct the solar farm. Additionally, decision will be based on financial benefits of the solar farm development. The aim of this study is to identify potential of solar farm implementation in generating green electricity. Data was acquired via literature review, questionnaire survey, record review, and expert interview. A calculation on payback period was made based on data obtained from expert interview where the data estimated based on experts' experiences in other solar farm projects. The study outlines the suitability factors for UTM to implement solar farm and payback period of solar farm implementation which includes installation cost, operation and maintenance cost and also earning cost.