KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) - All campuses nationwide have been urged to jointly pioneer new energy generation ideas and initiatives to create an energy-sensitive society in efforts to protect the sustainability of the energy industry and the environment in the country.
Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the initiatives, implemented by the Penang Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), managed to reduce the annual utility costs from RM18 million in 2014 to RM12 million in 2022.
"We were told that USM had developed the Energy Saving Initiative project in 2013 and it is part of efforts to achieve the concept of a sustainable campus through the development of renewable energy generation infrastructure on the campus.
"The project, implemented through the installation of photovoltaic solar systems on the campus, is now estimated to represent over 30 per cent of the total energy usage on the USM campus in Penang, which is equivalent to about 10 MWp, he said in a statement today.
He said that apart from saving money, efforts to upgrade the energy generation ecosystem on the campus also helped reduce the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution in the environment.
Nik Nazmi and the delegation from his ministry and the Energy Commission had earlier made a working visit to US's main campus in Penang to observe the development of energy-saving initiatives on the campus.
"The NRECC welcomes success stories regarding efficient policies and energy transition, especially in institutions of higher learning (PTs) which are the centres of knowledge sharing at the highest level among the local community.
"As the head of the NRECC delegation, I would like to thank everyone at USM, especially its top management for USM's awareness and commitment to realising the agenda of sustainability on its campus," he said.
- BERNAMA
