Mutiara Etnik, India's Vatsaa Energy To Jointly Develop Floating Solar Power Plants

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 (Bernama) -- Mutiara Etnik Sdn Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vatsaa Energy Pvt Ltd (India) to jointly develop floating solar power plants in Malaysia and ASEAN. In a statement Tuesday, Mutiara Etnik Managing Director, Surendran Menon, said the company planned to invest about US$50 million in the project. "We are about to start the feasibility study on the strategic location and other facilities which will provide best rate per unit generated using floating solar power plant," he said. Malaysia being near the equator receives some 4,000 watt-hour per sq metre daily, an incredible potential amount of energy which could be tapped, said Surendran. He said if one per cent of the total land area was used to generate electricity from this radiation at a net efficiency of only one per cent, it would be possible to meet the country's total power needs. The company said Malaysia's water-bodies cover an area larger than 1,600 sq kilometres of area, whereby even covering 10 per cent of the available area could generate 16,000 megawatts of power. "We feel that floating solar power plant is one of the solutions to achieve it," he added. Mutiara Etnik is a Malaysian company that is actively involved in engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of renewable energy and material handling projects since 2004. It said through this exposure and projects associated with the local power industry, the company has developed competencies in structural steel, mechanical and electrical works. -- BERNAMA