Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) second Large Scale Solar (LSS) project, located in Bukit Selambau, Kedah, is on track for completion before the end of next year, as over 84 percent of the project has been completed to-date.

Situated on a 50-hectare land, the RM180 million project involves the installation of 134,880 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, capable of generating up to 30 megawatts (MW), TNB said in a statement today.

The project is developed by TNB Bukit Selambau Solar Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd.

It was launched by Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir in March this year.

TNB said during its construction, the project’s spillover effect on the surrounding areas includes the creation of about 250 jobs in various capacities.

At its peak, 252 subcontract workers will be employed, of which 95 percent are locals.

The company’s first LSS plant — one of the biggest in Malaysia — is located on a 98ha land in Sepang, Selangor.

Equipped with 238,000 solar PV panels that can generate up to 50MW, the plant has been operating since November last year.

Apart from LSS projects, TNB is also installing solar panels on the rooftops of educational institution and government buildings, as well as residential, industrial and commercial properties.

So far, it has managed to secure approximately 26-megawatt peak (MWp) generation capacity through more than 100 projects.

With the LSS, solar PV installations on rooftops and other renewable energy (RE) projects, TNB aims to generate up to 1,700MW from RE by 2025.

“These RE initiatives are in line with the government’s target of having 20 per cent of the country’s electricity generated from renewable sources by 2025,” it added. — Bernama