The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil to produce electricity is one of the main contributors to global warming and climatic change. Many countries are highly dependent on fossil fuels, particularly for the industrial sector to ensure sustainable socio-economic development.
The United Nations defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It assumes that resources are finite, and so should be used conservatively and carefully to ensure that there is enough for future generations, without decreasing the present quality of life.
Advancing Sustainability is one of the three themes in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) towards guaranteeing continuous economic growth while protecting the environment and continuing Malaysia’s commitments to global targets, which are defined as the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this light, GSPARX Sdn Bhd (GSPARX), a fast-growing subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), backed with 72 years of experience in the electricity industry, has been addressing these issues head on with their solar and renewable-energy solutions.
Focussing on providing end-to-end solutions, from design and supply to installation, testing and commissioning of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, GSPARX’s mission is to ease the transition from fossil fuel energy to a cleaner energy towards a more sustainable future under an agenda for a greener Earth. Their aim is to foster sustainable business growth by futureproofing companies against potential fossil fuel price hikes of the energy tariff.
GSPARX managing director Elmie Fairul Mashuri said since the company was established in 2018, it now serves a wide customer base from residential and commercial to industrial and government sectors, alongside some 200 vendors offering solar energy solutions, either as installers or investors. What sets GSPARX apart is that it encourages a higher adoption of solar through its zero-capital expenditure (Capex) business model for its non-residential customers.
Speaking to BusinessToday for this Special Sustainability Edition, he said with this business model in place, industrial and commercial customers as well as government bodies are not required to provide any upfront capital to enjoy the cost saving benefits from solar energy.
VIABLE SOLAR ADOPTION
While renewable and alternative energy have great potential to replace the dependency on fossil fuels, the progress of bringing it into the mainstream has been slow in most developing countries. In Malaysia, the solar PV industry is on the rise due to continuous government support in the form of various schemes that favour solar PV installations across utilities, residential and commercial sectors; expanding renewable energy policies and investments; and falling costs (IRENA report on Malaysia Energy Transition Outlook 2023: “Local solar PV industrialisation opportunities”.)
Elmie stressed exploring solar energy for factories, buildings or offices as well as for homes is a viable option that aligns well with our nation’s sustainability goals with interest in solar panels growing; however, two reasons hold prospective customers back from making the crucial decision to adopt solar solutions – the first, being upfront costs, and the second is a lack of understanding on how the scheme works and thirdly, concerns regarding maintenance.
GSPARX focus is to offer hassle-free solar PV technology as effective green energy solutions provider for businesses with long-term environmental sustainability goals as the nation moves towards a common low carbon future.
“Under our Solar Power Purchase Agreement using Supply Agreement with Renewable Energy (SARE) Scheme, customers do not have to pay any upfront costs. GSPARX will also cover the maintenance and repairs throughout the contract period. Customers only pay for solar energy generated and used at a lower tariff, hence resulting in savings in the electricity bill,” he said.
Alternatively, GSPARX also provides an outright purchase option to obtain a faster Return-On-Investment (ROI), depending on the preferences of its customers across sectors.
Both options offer high quality service installation with stringent safety practices and reliable maintenance throughout the lifespan of up to 20 years and beyond. This is backed by GSPARX’s qualified team of contractors and expertise, providing much-needed assurance to customers on the safety standards of their installations.
By offering the zero-capex scheme for rooftop solar PV system to qualified corporate customers, GSPARX has lowered the entry bar in green energy adoption while helping them reduce their electricity bills. This creates a positive impact to customers’ total operational costs, especially in cases of fuel price hikes.
“With our financing capability, expertise and experience, GSPARX brings in a hassle-free solar journey for our customers,” Elmie said. “Through our rooftop solar solutions, we are empowering our customers to be “Prosumers” – enabling them to produce their own electricity using a clean solar energy while being a consumer of the energy generated.”
JOB CREATION FOR VENDORS
GSPARX is also a Registered Solar PV Investor (RPVI) committed to inject capital and import solar PV systems. The company, in its venture, provides job opportunities to other solar installers to carry out engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), which supports the MSME segment. This approach has gained recognition in overcoming the main issues of solar companies facing financial constraints to grow their business and assists the government to recover during post pandemic period.
Implementing this solution for commercial, industrial and government bodies, the solar solution provider will finance, design, install and maintain customer’s solar PV system for a fixed contract period. A solar PV system is composed of arrays of solar panels combined with the inverter(s) and wiring that use energy from the sun to generate electricity.
With the Net Energy Metering (NEM) scheme, TNB will change the existing meter to a NEM meter that is able to read bidirectional flow of electricity to/from TNB grid to the premises.
Currently, customers can enjoy savings via a lower solar tariff, compared to the usual TNB electricity tariff, and the solar tariff is fixed throughout the contract period. In this way, GSPARX provides a risk free and hassle-free solution for commercial property owners to have solar as an alternative to conventional electricity supply.
Such solar PV systems are used by the government today, such as Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh and, Majlis Bandaraya Seremban, for instance.
SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD
Among the leading projects, the biggest secured so far was the recently announced collaboration with AEON, a leading general merchandise store and supermarket chain in Malaysia. Under the SARE arrangement, 40 AEON Malls and AEON BiG hypermarkets nationwide are to be installed with solar facilities with a total capacity of over 78MWp for a period of 25 years. Upon completion, the rooftop solar solutions can deliver 99 MWh of solar energy annually with an expected accumulated savings of more than RM500 million in 25 years.
Another major project acquired is University Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) Serdang campus with a 16.19MWp solar installation. The installation consists of huge solar carparks, rooftop solar PV and a unique floating solar installation, serving as an energy generator and source material for the university’s R&D facility. The total potential savings for UPM is projected to be RM112 Million over 25 years and the CO2 offset is at 13,000 metric tonnes annually (or equivalent to 224,000 tree seedlings grown for 10 years).
The most recent secured university is University Malaysia Pahang (PEKAN campus) which GSPARX targets to install a 3.58MWp unit for the whole campus, inclusive of 259.2kWp floating solar facility. The potential savings is about RM25 million over 25 years and the CO2 offset is 3,081 metric tonnes annually (or equivalent to 49,600 tree seedlings grown for 10 years).
These follow earlier installations at TATI University College (TATIUC) in Terengganu when the solar installation has the capacity of 899kWp and carries a potential savings over 25 years of RM6.24 Million with an offset of 814 metric tonnes of CO2 annually (or equivalent to 13,400 tree seedlings grown for 10 years).
Other completed projects include that of University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad with capacity of 548kWp. Potential savings over 25 years is RM3.5 million and offset of 440 metric ton CO2 annually (equivalent to 7,200 tree seedlings grown for 10 years) and the University Tun Hussein Onn (UTHM) in Batu Pahat, Johor which is one of GSPARX’s largest installations with 6.9MWp for the whole campus consisting of 25 buildings covering rooftops, walkway and solar carpark. The solar capacity has started to generate green energy with potential savings of RM43 Million and the offset is at 5,500 metric tonnes annually (or equivalent to 90,600 tree seedlings grown for 10 years).
With our financing capability, expertise and experience, GSPARX brings in a hassle-free solar journey for our customers
MOVING FORWARD
Elmie said the main aim of both TNB and GSPARX is to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2050 supported by the collective TNB Group’s efforts to reduce 35% of the company’s emissions intensity and 50% of its coal portfolio by the year 2035. It is a very important aspiration as it contributes towards a more sustainable way of doing business and protecting our natural environment.
Post pandemic, GSPARX has secured many projects which allows for equal opportunities to all solar companies regardless of size. As GSPARX invests to procure the equipment required, it has created the job opportunities and promote growth to various small and medium solar companies as part of post pandemic recovery efforts.
GSPARX aspires to be the market leader and the rooftop solar solution provider of choice. There is definitely a bright and promising future in this segment, and GSPARX is in a unique position to play a vital role in bridging the financial gaps and help accelerate the uptake of solar.
