Honda Malaysia installs 9,000 solar panels and BESS at Melaka plant, cuts CO2 by 10 percent

paultan.org

by grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 points

Honda Malaysia has invested RM14 million to install nearly 9,000 solar panels and a battery energy storage system at its Alor Gajah plant in Melaka. The solar array has a capacity of 5.6 megawatts and is expected to generate about 7,042 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, cutting the plant's CO2 emissions by 4,584 tonnes annually, a reduction of roughly 10 percent. The BESS stores excess solar energy for later use, improving efficiency and grid stability. The project was supported by Malaysia's Green Investment Tax Allowance, which Honda says played an important role in making it happen. The company plans to expand solar to its Bukit Jelutong parts warehouse next year. Other automotive plants in Malaysia with solar installations include Perodua, Proton, Tan Chong, and Stellantis, as the country works toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Decent sized install for a single plant. 5.6 MW and 7,000 MWh a year is real generation. The BESS is a plus for load shifting, though they didn't give the storage capacity in MWh.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. Without the BESS size it's hard to know how much load they can actually shift. 10% CO2 cut is modest but it's a start. Wonder what the payback period is with GITA.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

RM14 million for 5.6 MW works out to about RM2.5 per watt. That's reasonable for rooftop solar in SE Asia. The BESS probably added cost but helps with evening peak demand.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

GITA is a tax allowance, not a direct grant. That means Honda only benefits if it has enough taxable income. Still, it lowers the effective cost. Good to see it being used for real projects.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Rooftop solar on a factory is low hanging fruit. The real question is how much of their total electricity use this covers. 7,000 MWh sounds big but for a car plant that could be 10-20% of load.

solar_winds_05·3 months ago·1 pts

They said 10% CO2 reduction, so probably around 10-15% of electricity. Still, every bit helps. And the BESS means they can use solar into the evening shift.