Solar Energy Project EIA

In year 2021, AGV conducted an EIA study for a solar farm located in Gopeng, Perak. The 114.81 ha site was a matured oil palm estate located next to a nearby river. The owners of the estate had secured a tender from TNB to develop a solar farm or photovoltaic plant for the generation of electricity from renewable energy on the said site. The project was required to submit an EIA report for the approval of DOE Perak. Although solar farm is not categorised as a prescribed activity in the EIA Order 2015, it was deemed as falling under the industrial estate development, and power generation and transmission categories.

The large scale solar farm of 50 MW will feed the electricity generated to the nearest TNB main intake substation in Kampar about 15 km away. Overhead electric cables were to be used to connect the solar farm to the substation, which partially transects an environmentally sensitive area.

The assessment found that the environmental and social impacts of the project were expected to be low, with most of the impacts confined to within the site itself. There were few challenges during the assessment as the site was mostly flat land, easily accessible, and the surrounding residents welcoming the proposed development. Approval of the EIA was obtained within 4 months after commencement of the study.

Baseline monitoring of river, air and noise