Renewable energy became the buzzword of the 21^st Century as more and more nations saw the urgency to combat pollution and global warming. Of all renewables, solar energy becomes one of the growing trends as tech company giants like Apple and Google, automobile companies like Tesla, Nissan and Bentley all heavily invested in solar energy.

With China being the largest installer of solar photovoltaics (PV), solar energy is seen to be better energy source as is both practical and more cost-effective than fossil fuels for both the commercial and residential. In Malaysia alone, more and more organizations are jumping on to the solar bandwagon, as the nation strives to become world’s second largest PV producer by 2020.

As electricity cost in the country continues to rise, many are turning to solar energy as an alternative and cost-effective energy. There are more uses for solar energy than one realized. For example, it can serve as a handy portable charger, allowing you to charge your devices anywhere as long as there is sunlight. With solar as an alternative energy, it will help the country save a lot of money that initially went to conventional energy consumption.

Below shows why everyone should consider turning to solar energy system as the alternative energy source.

Benefits of installing in Solar PV system

1. It is inexhaustible. The sun is a free and inexhaustible source of energy. The sunlight cannot be monopolized by anyone nor does it run out of sun rays no matter how much solar PV takes in from it. Unlike fossil fuels where it is non-renewable and release greenhouse gas, solar PV convert sunlight into electricity with needing to burn anything. Therefore, it also makes solar energy a clean energy.
2. It is economical. Solar energy helps reduce electricity bills. As was mentioned, the sun is free, there is no cost for excavation or transportation that often incurred when relying on fossil fuels. In Malaysia, companies could to sell their surplus energy to government-linked electricity company, TNB.
3. It is sustainable. The lifespan for solar PV panels can last beyond 25 years and has low maintenance and operating cost because the system was built to sustain through years and decades.
4. It paves the way for more technology advancement. Solar energy does not merely solve the climate change issue but it also opens a new avenue for the world to rethink power and electricity. Within Malaysia, the growing industry of Solar is constantly seeing improvement in their systems.

Around the world, we can see a constantly competition in improvement the solar technology, from self-cleaning panels, to the battle for higher efficiency, to recently, where triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) was added to solar technology, where it is now possible for a solar panel to generate electricity from raindrops (it is yet to be commercialized).

Simply put, the introduction of solar technology is also opening new and better inventions into a nation.

It is important to point out that solar powered electricity is not inferior to fossil fueled electricity, as solar power too can be used to generate a variety of appliances from households to industrials.

While it may seem to be a Herculean task to transformed a nation that is driven by fossil energy to solar powered one; and it may seem to be a massive financial commitment in the short term, but in the long term, the country as a whole will yield much more in return both financially, culturally and environmentally.

With solar energy trending and gaining popularity, we are seeing the skepticism of the public decreases as more are being educated on renewable energy and climate change. Rooftop panels, car park panels and solar forms are some of the Solar PV projects that are rapidly in Malaysia.

With TNB (Tenaga National Berhad) too has been heavily involved in some of the large-scale solar projects (LSS) in Malaysia, it is a clear indication that solar energy is here to stay and expand.