Malaysia

Malaysian scientists have tested bio-inspired coconut fiber to cool down solar modules. The cooling system features a moist coconut pith encapsulated with a polyurethane sheet. It is placed on the back of a PV module’s surface and acts as a heat sink.

After an interim high in 2021, polysilicon imports into China fell again in 2022, but the country’s share in global output still came close to 90%, according to a new report by Bernreuter Research.

Gentari, the clean energy unit of Malaysian oil and gas supplier Petronas, has finalized its acquisition of Wirsol Energy’s Australian renewables assets, including 422 MW of operational capacity across solar and storage facilities, and 765 MW of potential capacity under development.

Malaysian researchers have developed a system that can absorb heat from PV modules and transmit it to a nanofluid, in order to transform it into thermal energy and use it for different applications. The panels have an overall efficiency of 89%.

While near neighbors, the electricity generation of the countries of Southeast Asia couldn’t be further apart. Indonesia burns locally mined coal; Malaysia has reserves of oil and gas; and populous Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines depend on fossil fuel imports. They could all benefit from increased solar electricity but higher grid capacities and interconnection are key for an opportunity to unlock the power of the sun.

The Malaysian authorities have revealed that they will extend power purchase agreements from the fourth LSS4 tender for large-scale PV from 21 to 25 years.

Tsinghua University researchers have developed a way to combine high-cost platinum and a rare earth element, lanthanum, to serve as a catalyst in fuel cells. Meanwhile, SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall have revealed plans to launch industrial production of hydrogen direct reduced sponge iron (H-DRI) by the end of this decade.

Indonesia will have to get to work installing more than 24 GW of solar this year – and every year – if the region is to achieve the 2.1 TW to 2.4 TW of photovoltaics Irena has estimated it will require to achieve a net zero carbon energy system by 2050.

Researchers in Malaysia have defined a new parameter to evaluate solar module cooling techniques based on their lifespan effectiveness. They warned that the proposed methodology should be utilized only with standard test conditions, a temperature of 25 C, and a reference PV system without the cooling system.

The Energy Market Authority has already attracted proposals for 1.2 GW of renewable electricity, to be generated in four southeast Asian nations, and wants to raise that figure to 4 GW by 2035.