AS REQUESTED BY MANY, AM POSTING THIS ARTICLE HERE FOR THE BENEFITS OF FRIENDS NOT RESIDING IN SABAH. THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN TODAYS PAPER ( Sunday, 5 July 2009 -Daily Express ) UNDER COLUMN " WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY"
In a few weeks time , all contractors that have been awarded to design, supply and install solar hybrid projects to the rural and remote schools and villages throughout the state will commence their work according to the specifications and guidelines given by the respective Ministries.
The total value of the projects to be implemented by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Rural and Regional Development for this year alone are estimated between RM500m to RM600m. ( MoE RM450m + MRRD RM150m )
Solar Panel installed in a farm in South Africa to generate electricity for the villages
It is known that many contractors for the projects awarded by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development which go through the process of restricted tenders and negotiations has gone through a stringent selection process before the project is awarded.
This include registration with the the relevant authorities such as TNB ( Tenaga Nasional Berhad or Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, PKK ( Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor ) and CIDB ( Construction Industry Development Board ) and the most important thing of all is the contractor's experience and proven track record.
Whilst with the Ministry of Education, nobody seems to know what is the basis for the selection of companies. The reasons are only known to them and JKR ( Jabatan Kerja Raya ). Majority of the companies that participated are Sabah-based local companies who have good track record and experience in the supply of the solar hybrid system but were not even shortlisted for the MoE restricted tenders or were not even considered.
However, the good news is that after the design and specifications problems were highlighted and exposed by Daily Express, MoE decided to appoint new consultants for their projects. But, we must remember that appointing inexperienced contractors withoutproven track records would not help and do the job properly. The 
important component is the equipment and product used for the supply and installation of the system itself. An independent body should be appointed to audit and check records of equipment supplied and that whatever brand of products used during the last two years of the project are working properly.
They should ask for a detailed report of the commissioning of all the equipment before approval is made. There are plenty of solar companies from abroad and their agents in Malaysia since the last few months trying to introduce and sell their products and systems but not many had given complete data and proven track records.
There is also talk that the phase one MoE solar hybrid projects completed few months ago had encountered many technical problems where the solar panel doesn't work and the system are too dependent on generators to supply electricity instead of from the sun via the solar panels and cells.
The Government already lost several hundred million ringgit few years back on the solar stand alone projects which until today all the equipment installed had become obsolete. The Government must and should learn from these mistakes.The Government must also work very closely with other foreign agencies that specialised in renewable energy so that this industry could be established to our very own standards and accreditation scheme which will fall in line with the latest international trends.
The renewable energy industry is currently quite fractured and the hope is that through this initiative, our own national standards and accreditation will be established.
As it is for now, there is no such standard to enable the designers and technicians to confidently and competently design a Hybrid System using Photo-Voltaic modules for the solar industry in Malaysia.
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