Ingenieur Vol. 75 ingenieur July 2018-FA | Page 17

Figure 4: Typical powerhouse for small hydro scheme
utility substations. Some are facing problems
due to lack of fuel feedstock, while others have
technology issues involving the boiler and/or the
fuel processing/treatment system, all of which
significantly reduce output.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Systems
There have not been any success stories so far in
generating power from MSW in Malaysia, mainly
due to the low tariff rate when selling electricity to
the utility and the low tipping fee for sending the
MSW to the landfill. The only plant commissioned a
few years ago in Kajang ground to halt a few years
ago. A new plant has recently been commissioned
at an astronomical cost, but it can operate
economically since it uses scheduled waste where
the tipping fee is extremely high.
SMALL HYDRO SYSTEMS
Most of these plants are away from population
centres but are normally connected to the
distribution network in the vicinity; they can
range from 1 or 2 MW up to 30 MW. However,
micro turbines installed in large utility pipes can
generate a few hundred kW for use by the water
treatment plants, or for export to the distribution
network.
MECHANISMS FOR GENERATING AND
SELLING POWER FROM RENEWABLES
Feed-in-Tariff (FiT)
The FiT was launched by the Sustainable Energy
Development Authority (Seda) in December 2011
for solar PV, biogas, biomass and small hydro
systems. The FiT is supported by a 1.6 % additional
contribution on the monthly bill of electricity
consumers. FiT for solar PV ended in 2017 due
to the continuing fall in PV prices, bringing PV
power prices down to almost Grid parity. FiT for
the other technologies is still available but quotas
are becoming more d