NAME: MUHAMMAD FAUZAN HAKIM BIN NAME: MUHAMAD IRFAN BIN

AZMAN ISMAIL
MATRIC: 1323139 MATRIC: 1326491
KULLIYAH: ENGINEERING KULLIYAH: ENGINEERING

Malaysia should invest on the research and development of renewable energy as a

substitute to standard energy resources.

Over the past few years, Malaysia has experienced high economic growth rates

resulting an increase in number of industrial consumer. These situation lead to the huge

increases in energy consumption to satisfy demand. Hamdani (2005) reports that energy used

in Malaysia has increased from fifteen thousand kilotonne in 1991 to thirty five kilotonne in

2003. At the current situation, the natural resources in Malaysia continue to used more and

more each year. For the longest time, Malaysia depends on fossil fuels such as natural gas and

coal as its main sources for electricity generation (Tick, Mohamad, Jeyraj, Siew & Shing,

2017). These source of energy are not renewable and will incredibly decline with time, so there

is the need to discover new energy resources. Malaysia has a huge potential in the renewable

energy sector as it has plenty of resources such as solar, biomass, hydro and others. However,

it is not yet widely developed. As Malaysia is inspired to become a well developed country by

2020, the goverment should actively promoting renewable energy as a long term development

plans. Renewable energy development not only important to fulfill energy demand but to

protect environment as well as improve public health.

Malaysia should take opportunity in developing renewable energy because Malaysia

has large renewable energy. According to Abdul (2012, p. 384), Malaysia has huge potential

renewable energy resources in the form of biomass, solar, and hydro. Because of large

renewable energy, the demand for power increasing due to economic growths, improvement of

life style, concerns for the environment and from that, alternative sources of energy have been
seek. So renewable energy resources have been identified as the biggest alternative in the power

generation mix.

Petinrin & Shaaban have stated that, Biomass (including biogas), solar and hydro

energy generation are the major of renewable energy in Malaysia (2015, p.937). Malaysia's

potential for renewable energy generation is substantial. Its equatorial location is superb for

solar, and its extensive tropical forests can supply large quantities of biomass. Hydropower

already plays a significant part of the nation's energy mix, particularly on the island of Borneo,

and mini-hydropower from streams and rivers has boosted the electricity supply in rural areas.

Solar energy is the energy provided by the sun. This energy is in the form of solar

radiation, which makes the production of solar electricity possible. Electricity can be produced

directly from photovoltaic (PV) cells. (Photovoltaic literally means light and electric.)

These cells are made from materials which exhibit the photovoltaic effect such as when

sunshine hits the PV cell, the photons of light excite the electrons in the cell and cause them to

flow, generating electricity. Solar energy produces electricity when it is in demand during

the day particularly hot days when air-conditioners drive up electricity demand.

Hydropower or hydro energy is a form of renewable energy that uses the water stored

in dams, as well as flowing in rivers to create electricity in hydropower plants. Hydropower

uses a turbine to help generate electricity; using the energy of falling or flowing water to turn

the blades. The rotating blades spin a generator that converts the mechanical energy of the

spinning turbine into electrical energy. The quantity of the flowing water and the height from

which it falls produces the amount of electricity that is generated from each power plant.

Biomass is the fuel that is developed from the organic materials, a renewable and

sustainable source of energy used to create electricity or other forms of power. The examples

of materials that can produce biomass energy are scrap lumber, forest debris, manure, certain
crops and some types of waste residues. At present the palm oil industry generates large

volume of biomass from the oil extraction process. Malaysia alone produces regarding 47% of

the worlds palm oil supply and could be recognized as those worlds biggest producer and also

exporter for palm oil (Mohammed, Salmiaton, Azlina, Amran, Fakhrul-Razi & Taufiq-Yap,

2011).

Malaysia produces around 18 million tonnes of palm oil per year, most of which is

exported. Oil palm plantations cover 15 percent of the country (4.7 million ha) and produce

significant amounts of combustible waste both biomass, including empty fruit bunches, tree

fronds, trunks, fibres and shell; and biogas from methane capture of palm oil mill effluent

(POME) which, according to some estimates, could generate up to 20 percent of the country's

electricity by 2020.