Shah Alam, 1 April 2021 – Universiti Teknologi MARA’s (UiTM) investment arm, UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd (UHSB) has reached another milestone in its journey to become one of the nation’s renewable energy powerhouses. The Group has expanded its portfolio from owning and operating two (2) large scale solar power plants to developing rooftop solar generating facilities in UiTM campuses and now, has furthered its business into the commercial sector with the signing of a 21-year solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) with Ingress Corporation Berhad (Ingress). UHSB’s wholly owned subsidiary, UiTM Energy & Facilities Sdn Bhd (UEFSB) signed the SPPA with Ingress Technologies Sdn Bhd (ITSB) and Ingress Precision Sdn Bhd (IPSB) at a ceremony held in Shah Alam yesterday.
Under the agreement, UEFSB will invest and install solar power generating facilities with a total capacity of 897.26kWp and 1224.86kWp at IPSB and ITSB respectively. The installation of the solar power generating facilities in ITSB and IPSB is expected to significantly reduce their energy expenditure through sustainable energy generation and Net Energy Metering (NEM) scheme, whilst reducing their carbon footprint to support the Nation’s Renewable Energy Agenda. Cumulatively, the facilities will be able to avoid 42,699 tons of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to planting 50,000 trees. UEFSB will undertake 100 percent of the investment as part of the company’s initiatives to grow its Renewable Energy business.
“With the Malaysian government setting its target for 20 percent of the country’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2025, it is indeed timely for us to be an active participant in the nation’s sustainability goals. It is hoped that this project will be the first of many similar projects to be developed by the Group where the Private SPPA will become more common in the future and acceptance towards green technology especially Solar will ensure our growth in this sector,” said Datuk Md Zubir Ansori Yahaya, Chairman of UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd.
“No single industry can address future challenges by itself. In this era of globalization and interdependence, cooperative partnerships with strategic alliances will better prepare us to be more competitive and strengthen our ability to sustain in moving forward. The COVID-19 pandemic has given a huge economic impact around the world, and we at Ingress are not spared from it. We take the opportunity of this situation to transform our organisation, processes and work culture. We have cultivated new norms in our business and operations and this includes this rooftop solar project,” said Datuk (Dr) Rameli Bin Musa, Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Ingress Corporation Berhad.
The agreements were signed by Puan Norzaimah Maarof as Director of UEFSB representing UiTM Energy and Facilities Sdn Bhd (UEFSB), Datuk (Dr) Rameli Bin Musa as Chairman of ITSB representing Ingress Technologies Sdn Bhd (ITSB) and Dato’ Dr. Ab Wahab Bin Ismail as Chairman of IPSB representing Ingress Precision Sdn Bhd (IPSB). The signing was witnessed by Datuk Md Zubir Ansori Yahaya, Chairman of UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd. Also present during the event were Datuk (Dr) Aminar Rashid Salleh, Director of UHSB and Professor Dato’ Ts Dr Hj. Mohd Fozi Ali, UiTM’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Director of UEFSB.
This milestone marked UiTM Holdings Group’s continued inroads into the renewable energy sector after previously inking seven (7) SPPA with UiTM in November 2020 to develop and supply a total of 11.057MW solar power generation facilities in 7 UiTM campuses in Dungun, Permatang Pauh, Jengka, Kuala Pilah, Alor Gajah, Segamat and Bertam. The Group is currently in the midst of implementing Energy Optimisation and Solar Rooftop (EORS) project at 35 UiTM’s campuses nationwide which is targeted to be completed in Q4 2023. UiTM can potentially save up to 30 percent on its annual energy expenditure upon completion of this project.
UHSB also owns a 50 MW LSS Plant in Gambang, Pahang and a 25 MW LSS Plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor which have commenced operations on 5 March 2019 and 2 December 2020, respectively. The total energy generation of 75 MWac from both plants are able to power over 33,000 homes and avoid 84,000 tons of CO2 emissions every year. Both plants are generating a total of 120,000 MWh of clean energy per annum and could yield RM965 million in revenue over 21 years.