His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Brunei Shell Joint Venture companies consented to grace the opening of the Seria Energy Lab (formerly known as the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre) and the launching ceremony of Brunei Shell Petroleum Co. Sdn Bhd (BSP) Flagship Solar PV Plant.
This is a significant milestone for BSP and further reinforced its contributions in Brunei Darussalam’s efforts towards a low carbon nation. The inauguration of the BSP Flagship Solar PV plant signifies BSP’s strong commitment to pursue energy diversification and decarbonisation, and in support of the country’s target of increasing the total share of renewable energy to at least 30% of total power generation capacity by 2035. Meanwhile, the Seria Energy Lab, through Shell’s NXplorers, which is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educational programme, and its new exhibits aspires to enthuse students and youths on renewable energy, environment and innovation.
The Seria Energy Lab is a science centre designed to instil interest and knowledge in today’s youth regarding renewable energy as tomorrow’s leaders. It features five new exhibitions including interactive showcase on smart drilling technology, an Aqualab with a giant centrepiece that highlights “Life Beneath the Platforms” and a helicopter simulator experience that is based on BSP’s own aircraft services at Anduki Airfield.
BSP’s Flagship Solar PV Plant, located at G11 along Jalan Tengah, Seria is the second solar plant in Brunei, featuring the latest technology in solar panels. The construction of the plant took over seven months, where almost 7,000 solar panels were installed on the four hectares of land. The 3.3MWp plant produced its first power on 30th March 2021. The solar power generated is equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 600 households per year and will offset some of the power used by the BSP Head Office. On a national level, the power generated will contribute towards Brunei’s target of producing 100MWp renewable energy by 2025.
With 90% of the BSP project team made up of locals, the project has been a stepping stone in expanding the Bruneians’ expertise in renewable energy. As part of the project, two learning events were delivered at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Universiti Teknologi Brunei where students received first-hand information on the solar industry.
