This paper investigated the wind energy potential by analysing a certain amount of gathered 10-min measured data at four stations located at coastal sites in Malaysia, i.e., Kudat, Mersing, Kijal, and Langkawi. The wind data are collected from a total of four new wind measurement masts with sensors mounted at various heights on the tower. The measured data have enabled the establishment of wind resource maps and the power law indexes (PLIs) analysis. In addition, the dependence of PLI upon surface temperature and terrain types is studied, as they are associated to the form of exponential fits. Moreover, the accuracy of exponential fits is assessed by comparing the results with the 1/7 law via the capacity factor (CF) discrepancies. In order to do so, the wind turbine with a hub-height similar to the maximum height of the measured data at each site is selected to simulate energy production. Accordingly, the discrepancy of CF based on the extrapolated data by employing 1/7 laws and exponential fits, in spite of being computed using measured data, is determined as well. Furthermore, the large discrepancy of the wind data and the CF, which has been determined with the application of 1/7, is compared to the exponential fits. This is because; discrepancy in estimation of vertical wind speed could lead to inaccurate CF computation. Meanwhile, from the energy potential analysis based on the computed CF, only Kudat and Mersing display a promising potential to develop a medium capacity of wind turbine power, while the other sites may be suitable for wind turbines at a small scale.

Ocean wave energy is one of the most abundant energy sources in the world. There is a wide variety of wave energy conversion systems that have been designed and developed, resulting from the different ways of ocean wave energy absorption and also depending on the location characteristics. This paper reviews and analyses the concepts of hydraulic power take-off (PTO) system used in various types of wave energy conversion systems so that it can be a useful reference to researchers, engineers and inventors. This paper also reviews the control mechanisms of the hydraulic PTO system in order to optimise the energy harvested from the ocean waves. Finally, the benefits and challenges of the hydraulic PTO system are discussed in this paper.

Nowadays, many countries have been endeavoring to explore and exploit the offshore wind energy in terms of solving the problem of limitations of onshore wind energy. Wind energy is one of potential alternative for generating electricity in Malaysia. The offshore wind speed is better compared to onshore, so there is more potential contribution by offshore wind power in terms of electricity generation. This paper provides a summary of the offshore wind resources of the Kijal, Malaysia by analyzing the QuikSCAT satellite data which is available and can be downloaded from the WindPRO application. Based on these datasets, wind resources are assessed, and economical efficiency is evaluated by means of the expected capacity factor. Research was conducted using WindPRO and WAsP software to assess the potential of wind energy along the South China Sea in Kijal, Terengganu. Seven models of the wind turbines with different rated power; 110kW, 225kW, 275kW, 600kW, 850kW, 1000kW and 1250kW are taken for energy and economic feasibility analyses. The wind turbine with rated power 850 kW was indicated as the best wind turbine for installation in Kijal based on its best capacity factor, 26.8% In economical aspect, Malaysia does not have Feed in Tariff (FiT) rates for offshore wind projects, thus the range of predicted FiT rates, RM 0.30 to RM 2.00 were tested by using Net Present Value (NPV) and Payback Period (PBP) calculation. Finally, the conducive FiT rates for wind projects with secured investment were identified and the rates were in range RM 0.80 to RM 1.38. The overall results suggest that the wind energy has a bright future for use as an alternative source for generating electricity in Kijal, Malaysia.

This study investigated the effects of energy consumption (ENY) based on fossil fuels and alternative energy with hydroelectricity as its proxy upon pollution, aside from ascertaining if the correlation between income and pollution determined the presence of Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). In addition, the functions of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and trade openness (TO) were probed into so as to generate more precise outcomes of EKC hypothesis. Hence, in order to fulfil the objectives outlined in this study, the Bound estimation method was utilized to examine three developing nations of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), which are Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The main finding of interest retrieved from this paper refers to the EKC hypothesis reflective of Malaysia and Thailand. It was discovered that hydroelectricity favourably lowered the release of carbon emissions in the case of Malaysia, while it insignificantly influenced environmental degradation for Indonesia and Thailand. On the other hand, as anticipated, per capita energy use displayed a significant long-run effect in raising the levels of carbon emission in Indonesia and Thailand. Meanwhile, the FDI inflows seemed to improve the environmental quality only in Malaysia, while deepening in TO among ASEAN-3 nations appeared to successfully minimize issues related to environmental degradation in these countries.

This study is concerned with the application of two major kinds of optimisation algorithms on the hydraulic power take-off (HPTO) model for the wave energy converters (WECs). In general, the HPTO unit’s performance depends on the configuration of its parameters such as hydraulic cylinder size, hydraulic accumulator capacity and pre-charge pressure and hydraulic motor displacement. Conventionally, the optimal parameters of the HPTO unit need to be manually estimated by repeating setting the parameters’ values during the simulation process. However, such an estimation method can easily be exposed to human error and would subsequently result in an inaccurate selection of HPTO parameters for WECs. Therefore, an effective approach of using the non-evolutionary Non-Linear Programming by Quadratic Lagrangian (NLPQL) and evolutionary Genetic Algorithm (GA) algorithms for determining the optimal HPTO parameters was explored in the present study. A simulation–optimisation of the HPTO model was performed in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. A complete WECs model was built using Simscape Fluids toolbox in MATLAB/Simulink. The actual specifications of hydraulic components from the manufacturer were used during the simulation study. The simulation results showed that the performance of optimal HPTO units optimised by NLPQL and GA approaches have significantly improved up to 96% and 97%, respectively, in regular wave conditions. The results also showed that both optimal HPTO units were capable of generating electricity up to 62% and 77%, respectively, of their rated capacity in irregular wave circumstances.

Abstract:The government of Malaysia has recently decided to explore the feasibility of wind energy to generate electricity in the country. Their ambition is to achieve a measureable target in the percentage contribution of electricity generated by renewable energy technology in the national electricity generation mix. As part of this initiative, a study of wind energy policy has been conducted by identifying the optimal feed-in tariff (FiT) rates to support the development of wind energy in the country. The aim of this paper is to calculate the optimal level of tariff that is suitable with local wind conditions. A closed-form equation for optimal feed-in tariff rate of wind energy with consideration of the availability of capital allowance has been developed. The focus is on small-and utility-scale wind turbine installations. As a result, by considering the availability of capital allowance, the optimal FiT rates for small-scale wind turbines in Malaysia are between 0.9245-1.1313 RM/kWh, while utility-scale rates are between 0.7396 and 0.9050 RM/kWh. The level of FiT is changed with the changing value of economic parameters. Kudat, in northern Borneo, has been identified as a prime site for wind energy development in the country; however, more work needs to be conducted, including the development of a regional wind map and measurement of wind data at more new potential sites.

This paper presents accurate control parameters estimation of the hydraulic Power Take-Off (PTO) model for the wave energy conversion system to maximise energy production. In general, the performance of the hydraulic PTO system depends on the parameters setting of hydraulic PTO system components such as hydraulic motor displacement setting, pre-charge of the hydraulic accumulator, and et cetera. Conventionally, it requires to manually obtain the optimal parameters of a hydraulic PTO system by repeating the simulation process. However, this estimation method exposed to human error and would easily be resulting in a non-optimal selection of hydraulic PTO parameters for the wave energy conversion system. Therefore, an easy and accurate approach of using the GA optimisation method for determining hydraulic PTO parameters was introduced in the present study. This approach is simple and more accurate compared to the conventional optimisation method. The hydraulic PTO model was developed in SIEMENS/Amesim environment using available components in the library. The specifications of the actual hydraulic PTO system components from the manufacturer were used during the simulation set-up. The complete hydraulic PTO system was optimised using a special genetic algorithm (GA) optimisation tools in the SIEMENS/Amesim software. The simulation results showed that GA was effective to determine the optimal configuration parameters of hydraulic PTO system. From the results, the optimal configuration parameters of hydraulic PTO system were successfully reduced about 38%. Consequently, the maximum force applied to the WEC devices was reduced up to 34%. This force reduction is important since it will enable the WECS to be operated during a smaller wave condition.

Recently, a study of wind energy potential at selected areas in Malaysia was completed by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). One of selected sites is at Kudat, Sabah. The wind atlas analysis and application Program (WAsP) was used to investigate the wind energy potential by developing the regional wind diagram in the considered site at Kudat. Different types of data have been collected about climate, topography, obstacles and surface roughness of the land. The observed wind climates (OWC) of the wind mast had been created. The wind atlas and the resource grid have been calculated and analyzed, especially in the high wind resource areas and using criteria based on proximity, similarity and ruggedness index (RIX). The 22kW rated power wind turbine was selected due to it's best capacity factor. Then, the annual energy production of wind farms were evaluated by taking the turbine wake losses into account. The obtained results showed that the optimal place for single units of wind energy production is located in the farm zone 2 with a potential varying from 37.5-43.1 MWh per year. In economic aspect, the predicted FiT rates in between RM0.30 and RM1.30 were tested by using net present value (NPV) and payback period (PBP) approach. Finally, the conducive FiT rates for wind projects with secured investment were identified, and the rates were in between RM0.46 and RM0.80 per kWh.