Goodyear Malaysia installs solar power at Shah Alam corporate office and factory

Part of Goodyear’s global mission to reduce carbon footprint and improve sustainability

Goodyear Malaysia has installed 6680 solar panels on the roofs at the Shah Alam plant. The panels will generate electricity to power the corporate office and production plant. The solar panels significantly reduce the amount of electricity used. Goodyear is still reliant on Tenaga National as the system is not yet fully optimised but the long term plan is to sell back excess electricity to the grid.

The solar panel system is capable of producing 2.5-megawatts of power daily, and it is connected to six Low Voltage (LV) substations located within the plant. These panels will be responsible for powering the manufacturing plant, so will as the office and warehouse buildings.

The structure includes solar modules, inverters, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), alternating current and direct current cable works, allowing for greater fluidity and control over the accumulated power. With this technology in place, Goodyear is set to reduce its spending on electricity while also significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

Each panel is made of 375W Bifacial Monocrystalline Perc Double Glass Solar Modules, capable of reducing electricity costs. The panels are estimated to reduce 1,980,433.37 kilograms of carbon emissions per year across 25 years.

This is the latest programme in Goodyear’s sustainability corporate agenda, “Better Future”, to be more energy efficient, reduce its carbon footprint and focus on environmental protection. So far, Goodyear has identified more than 600 projects to be implemented under this programme. In Malaysia alone, Goodyear has invested nearly US$5.7 million into the plant as part of its energy and environmental sustainability efforts since 2015. Through this effort, the company has been able to eliminate almost 17% carbon emissions, as at end 2018.

Other environmental projects from Goodyear include the concept Oxygene tyres – tyres filled with moss that cleans the air while the car is being driven; and tyres developed specifically for hybrid cars.