Solar photovoltaic in Malaysia: The way forward

This paper examines solar photovoltaic (PV) in Malaysia. First, it analyzes the current energy demand in Malaysia and discusses some of the national policies and the installations of solar PV in urban and rural areas in the country. Next, the general Feed-In Tariff (FiT) scheme is explained, indicating its potential as one of the investment options for Malaysians. Finally, the loan financing option for solar PV is presented, providing examples that have been implemented in other countries, as well as explaining the Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) for companies and the proposed soft loan scheme for individual households in Malaysia. It also analyses the impact of the proposed interest rate to household consumers in Malaysia, in terms of total profit, net present value and internal rate of return. It is found that the FiT scheme could potentially help in increasing renewable energy penetration, particularly for solar PV. To provide upfront capital for solar PV installation, it is shown that the GTFS is a good financial source for companies while for individual home owners, a soft loan facility from banking institutions is a feasible source if the interest rate is 5% or less.     

Effect of yttrium on the physical,elastic, and structural properties of neodymium-doped lead borotellurite glass

In this study, a series of glass systems with a composition of (49???x)H₃BO₃–35TeO₂–15PbO–1.0Nd₂O₃–xY₂O₃ (x?=?0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mol%) was prepared via melt-quench technique. The effect of Y₂O₃ content on the density, molar volume, oxygen packing density, elastic, and structural properties were investigated. The density and molar volume were found to vary concerning Y₂O₃ content. Ultrasonic non-destructive testing was employed at room temperature for measuring the elastic properties of the prepared glass samples. The density data, ultrasonic velocities, and measured elastic moduli were found to be composition dependent with Y₂O₃ content. The Y₂O₃ modifier was expected to change the physical properties of neodymium-doped lead borotellurite glasses. The structure analyzed using X-ray diffraction was confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared glasses. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy has been carried out and reveals that the inclusion of Y₂O₃ into the glass system tends to increase the number of bridging oxygen atoms. All element study of the glass sample was proved by energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

     

Fabrication of hierarchical Sn-doped ZnO nanorod arrays through sonicated sol−gel immersion for room temperature,resistive-type humidity sensor applications

Hierarchical tin (Sn)-doped zinc-oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays (SZO) were deposited onto Al-doped ZnO-coated glass substrate by using a sonicated sol–gel immersion method for resistive-type humidity sensor applications. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the deposited SZO arrays exhibit a wurtzite structure. SZO possessed smaller average diameter, crystallite size, and thickness than the undoped sample did. The SZO film also exhibited compressive strain and tensile stress values of −0.033% and 77 MPa, respectively. Our result showed the sensitivity of the SZO based-sensor improved compared with that of the undoped ZnO, with values of 3.41 and 1.41 at 40% to 70% RH and 70% to 90% RH, respectively. The response and recovery times of the SZO based humidity sensor improved to 230 and 30 s, respectively. All these results indicated that SZO had high potential for humidity-sensor applications.