MIRI: Members of the IEEE Student Branch of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) are collaborating with the university’s management to design, build, instal and maintain a small-scale photovoltaic solarpowered lighting system for the campus’ soccer field. The project, aimed at promoting the benefits of renewable energy at the campus and in the larger community, would also help the students enhance their knowledge of renewable energy and its practical applications. Curtin Malaysia’s chief operating officer Pieter Willem Pottas said that the system was chosen because of its efficiency which aligns with the university’s goal of using sustainable energy. “Our location is conducive to harvesting energy considering the fact that our campus is on 1,200 acres of flatland which receives consistent sunshine throughout the year and the soccer field is used almost daily all year round,” he added.
The power output of the installed solar farm is approximately six kilowatts and the six floodlights can light up the field for up to four hours a day. Using floodlights instead of conventional spotlights also provides a wider coverage of the field with similar power consumption as spotlights. Pottas said that although the project initially involved the soccer field’s floodlights, the concept could be rolled out to other sporting facilities and eventually to the outdoor lighting throughout the campus. “It will also enable us to further validate system performance and get the results at a larger scale. We see potential in many other applications across our campus for greater efficiency and costsaving.
“The ever decreasing cost of solar panels and endless roof and ground-mount space on our campus, as well as the vast expertise of our staff and students will allow us to carry out more ambitious projects in the future,” he added. He also revealed that the idea to get students to be involved in the project was mooted by Curtin Malaysia Pro-Chancellor Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan to leverage on the knowledge and skills of the students, as well as showcase the project as carried out almost entirely by them. Dr Chan contributed seed funding amounting to RM100,000 to get the project underway.
Other sponsors and collaborators include EPC Synergy Sdn Bhd (solar panel racks, fencing and storage room construction), Kai Nguong Nursery Sdn Bhd (skylift) and LONGi (Kuching) Sdn Bhd (solar panels), while academic staff and staff of the university’s Campus Services Department provided technical advice. Meanwhile, third-year electrical power engineering student and IEEE Curtin Malaysia Student Branch technical head Howard Hu said he and his teammates were honoured to be involved in the project. The advisors include Department Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Lenin Gopal; advisor to the student branch Associate Professor Garenth Lim; and senior lecturer in mechanical engineering Dr Aja Ogboo Chikere.
The IEEE Curtin Malaysia Student Branch has, since 2016, been carrying out its signature ‘Light Up Borneo’ community engagement project involving the construction of hundreds of portable solar lamps and distributing them to rural villages that have no electricity supply. Villages that have benefitted from the project are Long Wat, Long Panai, Long Sobeng, Long Luyang, Uma Akeh, Senadin Jaya, Kampung Api-Api, Long Puak and Pujut Corner, where close to 1,000 lamps have been distributed. Several hundreds of villages in Bario, Pa’ Dalih and Long Selawan have been earmarked this year.
