GEORGE TOWN, Aug 20 — Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) has started preliminary feasibility studies on setting up a solar photovoltaic offshore floating farm system at Penang’s harbour.
It was reported in The Star that the solar farm will supply cruise ships with renewable energy (RE) and this will attract more international cruise lines that use sustainably produced electricity.
PPSB chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan reportedly said the floating solar farm project will increase the use of solar energy in the PPSB terminal.
He also said the project can generate solar power for the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) since there was no rooftop space at the container yard.
“Since we have proposed shore power at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, the RE can be used to power the terminal and cruise ships,” he was quoted as saying.
He said cruise ships are shifting to renewable energy as per the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) adoption of international mandatory measures to improve ships’ energy efficiency.
The IMO adopted a revised strategy on reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from ships in 2023 with the aim of reaching net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050.
The IMO GHG Strategy aims to reduce carbon emissions of international shipping by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and the uptake of RE by ships has to be at least five to 10 per cent.
Sasedharan said the provision of RE from the proposed floating solar farm will attract international cruise ships complying with the IMO GHG Strategy.
“It makes sense to use RE for shore power rather than relying on the national power grid,” he said, adding that a big cruise ship produces carbon equivalent to 20,000 cars.
He said some areas in Penang’s harbour are calm enough to set up the floating solar farm but they will still need to conduct feasibility studies on it.
The proposed solar farm will reportedly stretch over 4ha, the size of three World Cup football fields, and is expected to produce 30 megawatts of electricity, which could power about 6,000 homes.
