The renewable energy from the sun seems to be inspiring a lot of innovations especially green technology. Best of all, solar energy is readily and abundantly available and will never run out, being a clean renewable solution to the global warming issue intensified by our growing hunger for energy consumption.
Asia GreenTech Fund (AGTF) to tackle climate change
Fabulous Sunview Sdn. Bhd. (Sunview), a homegrown solar power provider, is opening up a new chapter in sustainable energy industry, following a RM16 million funding from a private equity company under the Hong Kong based Asia GreenTech Fund (AGTF) through Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (MAVCAP), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia.
The AGFT fund, created to champion green energy and green technology in Asia in response to climate change, serves as a catalyst for Sunview to take on Large-Scale Solar 4 (LSS4) projects, riding on the fund’s extensive experience in executing large projects in the region while working closely with the Malaysian government and relevant agencies.
“We are proud to be the first company that receives such funding from a private equity company to promote green technology in the country,” says director of Sunview, Ong Hang Ping, highlighting that the AGTF fund is focused on the development of sustainable energy, which is in line with the objectives of the Malaysia National Green Technology Policy.
“This strategic collaboration enables us as an industry player to pool all the essential resources together to strengthen the local green technology industry which will ultimately uplift the growth of our company,” he adds.
The AGFT fund will also be utilised for enhancing human competency and capacity in green technology applications, formulating support policies, promoting and creating awareness of green technology, and financing initiatives to promote green technology growth, according to Ong.
Creating a solar-powered future
The IS0 9001:2015 accredited and SEDA & Energy Commission certified Sunview, which has concluded more than 200MW of solar projects since its establishment in 2013, is on a mission to create a solar-powered future by harnessing solar energy to save Mother Earth, focusing on reducing carbon emissions through Zero-Energy Building (the development of super energy efficient buildings that are integrated with renewable energy applications), using green technology.
“We want to create more awareness about the importance of renewable energy among Malaysians and we would like enable everyone to benefit from the renewable energy generated from the sun without polluting the environment,” assures Charlie Chow, one of the two founding directors of Sunview, asserting that the company is committed to providing a quality and worry-free service to its industrial customers – the key focus, with residential customers coming into the picture in the next expansion phase.
Huge solar potential and government incentive schemes
Going from strength to strength with over 7 years of experience in the industry, Sunview foresees a huge potential in the Malaysian solar market, given a very low adoption rate of between 3 – 5% against the 20% target of the country’s electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2030, as set forth by the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change (MESTECC).
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), solar energy is one of the thriving renewable energy technologies with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems seeing a phenomenal growth in Malaysia, where applications involving solar energy have also been gaining popularity due to our favourable climate conditions.
Driven by the solar energy potential, the Malaysian government has introduced Net Energy Metering (NEM), Feed-in Tariff (FIT), Large Scale Solar (LSS), Self-Consumption (SELCO) and other renewable energy incentives, in an effort to reduce your bills and carbon footprint at the same time.
“Under the NEM programme, users pay a lower tariff for energy generated by solar, hence allowing for savings in electricity. Additionally, the Zero Capex scheme allows our users to enjoy savings without an upfront payment. And tax exemption will further reduce the cost of installation which will encourage business owners to adopt solar energy into their operations for cost savings,” says Chow.
“Our strategic geographical location, where we are nearer the equator makes it easier to harness the sunlight and turn it into energy. And thanks to the incentive schemes introduced by our government, we are able to offer solar energy and related services at affordable prices,” Chow continues, indicating that Sunview offers free consultation for the public to learn more about solar energy and is open for collaboration with any interested university on green education.
“We are like the designer of our clients’ premises, from design to construction, technical support and even financing support through certain incentive schemes. We want to ensure that our clients can enjoy the benefits of maximising electric savings while empowering them to focus on growing their business,” he adds.
A new trend beyond sustainable development
Echoing Chow’s views, Ong emphasizes that green industry goes beyond sustainable development as it pushes job creation and economic growth.
“Green industry will be the future as we believe we couldn’t just relay on non-renewable resources to generate energy. We believe that in the future, energy should be self-generating on a self-consumption model. The integration of solar panel and energy storage system, and even the recycling of solar panels will be next trend of the solar industry in Malaysia,” he says, pointing out the capability of solar energy that can be used to power both the factories and residences for efficient energy use to save on electric bill eventually.
Sunview specializes in providing Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems (replacing the existing roof by using Solar PV Module with Sunview Waterproofing System); Energy Management System (EMS) – an automation system that collects energy data to improve energy efficiency with online monitoring; and Total Energy Solution to reduce high peak, mid peak, off peak energy usage to take advantage of the different TNB tariff categories.
Regionally, the Philippines has become one of the most significant ASEAN markets for Sunview, following the incorporation of Fabulous Sunview Philippines Inc. in in 2015. Taking its game to the next level, Sunview aims to get listed on Bursa Malaysia in the near future.
Passion and dedication
“We must have passion in what we are doing and doing our best to be the best. Most importantly, everyone onboard our team must work toward the same goal in the fight against global warming,” reminds Ong.
The dedication of Sunview has earned the company a long list of awards such as Sin Chew Young & Emerging Company Award 2016, SME 100 Awards 2016 Fast Moving Companies 2016, Golden Bull Award Year 2017, Sin Chew Business Service Excellence Award 2017, Golden Globe Tigers Award 2017, Malaysia Independence Award 2017, Top 30 Nominees for JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award 2020 and the Nomination of Excellence Leadership Award – Innovation Leader of The Year 2020.
Find out more about Sunview’s green aspirations at https://www.sunview.com.my/
