MATRADE Inks Solar PPA With Kejuruteraan Cahaya Abadi

By Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) today signed a solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kejuruteraan Cahaya Abadi Sdn Bhd (KCASB) for electricity consumption savings worth RM500,000 a year.

MATRADE chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said KCASB will implement the solar energy system installation and maintenance project at the MATRADE and Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) buildings.

"This is a big initiative we are taking… for the purpose of saving and reducing operating costs.

"In addition, this step is also taken to support the government's efforts to encourage the use of solar energy as part of the initiative to improve renewable energy (RE) sources," he said at the signing ceremony of the PPA agreement here today.

He said the solar installation initiative in the two buildings also aims to reduce carbon emissions and support the country's aspiration to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Meanwhile, KCASB executive director Muhammad Syafie Zainal Abidin said the solar installation works in the MATRADE and MITEC buildings are expected to be completed this year.

He said the total capacity is within 3.3 megawatt-peak (MWp), where the project capacity at MATRADE is 832kWp while at MITEC, it is 2,560.32kWp.

Muhammad Syafie told Bernama he hoped that through the cooperation with the renowned government agency, his company can expand its solar business internationally.

"KCASB is a bumiputera company that has ventured into the solar field since 2018 and the solar project with MATRADE is the biggest achievement for this company.

"Our company is also looking for opportunities to penetrate the overseas solar markets such as in Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia," he said.

KCASB will participate in the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) as soon as registration opens this year and intends to penetrate the foreign market within two years.

-- BERNAMA