PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — Solar photovoltaic (PV) and earthing and lightning protection specialist Pekat Group Bhd is partnering Proton Holdings Bhd to promote the adoption of solar PV system within its ecosystem and among employees as part of the national automaker’s energy sustainability initiatives.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked today between Solaroo Systems Sdn Bhd and Proton Global Services Sdn Bhd (PGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Proton Edar Sdn Bhd.

Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said with energy costs still elevated, coupled with the continuous push among carbon-conscious stakeholders towards sustainability, the partnership between PGS and Solaroo marks the beginning of the next phase in Proton’s journey towards a more holistic green energy adoption.

"Following our investment into new energy technologies at Tanjung Malim, we are hoping to adopt more energy savings measures throughout our entire ecosystem in line with the government’s target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” he told reporters after the MoU signing ceremony here, today.

The partnership builds on Pekat’s successful launch of a 12 megawatt-peak (MWp) grid-connected solar PV system at Proton’s manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, which has helped Proton to reduce its carbon footprint and energy costs since March this year.

As part of the collaboration, Proton will actively promote the adoption of solar PV systems provided by industry suppliers including Pekat’s solar subsidiary Solaroo Systems Sdn Bhd by demonstrating the savings it can generate and the benefits it brings to the environment.

Solaroo Systems Sdn Bhd director Johann Sze said the collaboration will add to Solaroo’s track record in the commercial and industrial segment, while with the inevitable electricity tariff hike, the usage of renewable energy will rise in today’s economy.

"We are more than happy that our partnership with Proton is continuing to expand. In particular, we are ]excited that Solaroo will support the wider Proton family as they continue their energy transition. We know that solar energy significantly reduces energy costs, as exemplified by the savings of over RM4 million a year from Proton’s Tanjung Malim solar asset alone.

"But more importantly, that same solar asset reduces CO2 emissions from the facility by over eight thousand tonnes a year. Using the same playbook for the Proton ecosystem and its employees, we hope that our expertise can help the company to reduce emissions, cut electricity costs, and contribute to the well-being of our environment,” he said.

Pekat’s RM33.1 million, 9.31 hectares solar PV asset at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant has the potential to provide annual energy savings of RM5.85 million for the automaker, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions from the facility by up to 11,536 tonnes per annum.

Pekat has successfully secured over 195 MW of solar rooftop PV installation projects nationwide across residential and commercial and industrial customers. — Bernama