Modeling and analysis of rooftop solar photovoltaic system for educational institution in Malaysia

Abstract

The education sector is one of the contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the education sector strongly supports the government’s aspirations to reduce carbon emissions. Energy consumption is related to the amount of carbon emission production—energy consumption information helps to forecast energy savings while creating carbon emission reduction. The research aims to propose a new modeling of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) by installing the Net Energy Metering (NEM) meter in the Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) educational institution's ring distribution system. The energy demand at PSAS in 2022 is 3,916,534 kWh/year, equivalent to an energy cost of RM 1,429,535. The new model design is based on setting 20% of the total power supply in PSAS generated by solar. A feasibility analysis on the proposed modification of the distribution layout design found that in the next four years, it is predicted that the minimum energy savings that PSAS will obtain are 2,075,763 kWh, while the annual bill savings are RM 757,654. This energy saving leads to a reduction in gas emissions where PSAS can reduce the production of 1,526,620 kg of CO2 to the environment while saving 38,165 mature trees from being cut down.