Bruneians receiving power from the sun

RESIDENTS in Seria had been receiving solar energy from their electrical supply system unknowingly, as the Tenaga Suria Brunei solar energy plant had recently completed its three-month testing from July to September.

According to information provided by Mitsubishi Corporation to The Brunei Times during a scheduled visit by Energy Division at the Prime Minister's Office (EDPMO), the plant first connected to the power grid of the Department of Electrical Services (DES) back in May this year to provide the first breath of light to the network.

However, it was only in late September when it started going full capacity after completing its three-month performance testing.

"We're currently providing the electricity for around 200 households," said Takayuki Kono, Deputy General Manager of Mitsubishi Corporation in Brunei.

"As the grid is connected to the network, there is no one particular area that the solar plant covers, but the amount of electricity generated is estimated to sustain about 200 houses."

Brunei government had been touting the need for Brunei to shift to less polluting energy sources and also to reduce the nation's dependence on oil and gas.

In recent years, in the context of sustainable development, especially concerns about global warming, the idea of maximising energy options for future generations became an even more pressing issue for the government, which led to the solar energy research project.

The solar project is known as "The Large-Scale Photovoltaic (PV) Power Generation Demonstration Project Tenaga Suria Brunei" (TSB Project), and as the name suggests, it is more of a testing facility to evaluate the viability of using solar power than to provide substantial volume to relieve the country from its reliance on oil and gas.

The objective of setting up TSB was to help the government understands the various areas of the workings and how to nanage a solar energy plant.

With TSB, Brunei will not just be able to identify the highest performance solar panels that suits Brunei's weather conditions, but will also benefit from the data accumulated to develop policies in the field of renewable energy in the future.

Through running the solar plant, it will also help the Sultanate accumulate technical expertise and assist in human resource development for the upcoming industry.

In light of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion, safety in the energy industry has become the focus of many countries.

Responding to questions of potential safety hazards for a solar plant, Kono said that there are no significant safety issues for a solar plant.

"At the worst, even if thunder strikes the solar panels, it will only cause damage to some of the panels itself only," he said.

According to information provided by Brunei's EDPMO, the actual output from TSB varies from day-to-day, depending on the amount of sunlight or solar irradiation.

For example, on a sunny day, the output of the plant would be about 5000 to 6000kWh (kilowatt per hour), whereas on a cloudy day, the output would be about 3000 to 4000kWh.

In the month of August, the total output from the plant was 150,529kWh, which can support approximately 200 households.

In response to a solar panel design that will tilt according to the direction of the sunlight, Kono said he is not sure how cost effective that will be.

"From what I know, such designs are quite expensive, and you also need power for the panels to tilt as well."

"I'm not sure how cost-effective can that be, considering you are collecting solar energy, and then using part of it for tilting the panels," replied Kono.

Through Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS), Brunei is currently conducting a nationwide feasibility study to identify the best alternative energy sources for the nation.

"The consultants have advised that Brunei's abundance of sun strongly points to solar as a compelling and complementary source of energy," said Dr Diana Cheong, Senior Researcher from CSPS, who also attended the TSB visit.

"The technology for developing solar in the face of geographical constraint is moving at a very fast pace and this is an opportunity for Brunei to work upon both in terms of its utilisation and also in terms of venturing into research and development in relevant solar technologies. This is a pioneering research initiative by EDPMO who are also CSPS's main partners for our nationwide feasibility study on alternative energy."

TSB is currently under the care of Mitsubishi Corporation, and the company is expected to transfer title of the solar plant to the Brunei government in the next couple of months.

The Brunei Times