PETALING JAYA: Johor has the potential to become a significant solar energy producer given its abundance of land, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said.
Sultan Ibrahim said Johor had “thousands of hectares” of unused land that could be used for solar energy production, Bernama reported.
“(In the future), we can supply solar (energy) to Singapore,” he was quoted as saying.
Sultan Ibrahim said there was already interest in the endeavour, adding that Pengerang and Pontian were ideal locations to develop the solar industry.
In February 2021, the sultan had announced the setting up of the RM1.4 billion Sultan Ibrahim Solar Park in Pengerang, touted as the biggest of its kind in the region with a capacity of 450 megawatts.
However, in late 2021, he called off the ground-breaking ceremony for the project following Putrajaya’s silence on the matter.
On a separate matter, Sultan Ibrahim said Johor would have adequate water supply as long as the resource was managed efficiently.
He said Johor was also exploring water recycling, including the use of river water, for industrial purposes.
According to him, factories in the state were currently using refined water when they should be using industrial water.
The decision to have factories use water from the same source meant for residential areas had resulted in households facing disruptions to their water supply, he said.
“So, now, we are looking at recycling industrial water and supplying river water for industrial use.
“Several companies have come up with proposals, but the government (state government) and I will look into it, and assess how the government can benefit from this.”