Open Access

ARTICLE

A Feasibility Study of Renewable Energy Generation from Palm Oil Waste in Malaysia

Mujahid Tabassum^1,*, Md. Bazlul Mobin Siddique², Hadi Nabipour Afrouzi³, Saad Bin Abdul Kashem⁴

1 Department of Computing and Mathematics, South East Technological University, Waterford, X91 K0EK, Ireland
2 Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Kuching, 93350, Malaysia
3 Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, B4 7BD, UK
4 Department of Computing Sciences, AFG College with the University of Aberdeen, Doha, P.O. Box 10805, Qatar

* Corresponding Author: Mujahid Tabassum. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Renewable Energy Systems: Integrating Machine Learning for Enhanced Efficiency and Optimization)

Energy Engineering 2025, 122(9), 3433-3457. https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2025.065955

Received 26 March 2025; Accepted 15 July 2025; Issue published 26 August 2025

Abstract

Malaysia, as one of the highest producers of palm oil globally and one of the largest exporters, has a huge potential to use palm oil waste to generate electricity since an abundance of waste is produced during the palm oil extraction process. In this paper, we have first examined and compared the use of palm oil waste as biomass for electricity generation in different countries with reference to Malaysia. Some areas with default accessibility in rural areas, like those in Sabah and Sarawak, require a cheap and reliable source of electricity. Palm oil waste possesses the potential to be the source. Therefore, this research examines the cost-effective comparison between electricity generated from palm oil waste and standalone diesel electric generation in Marudi, Sarawak, Malaysia. This research aims to investigate the potential electricity generation using palm oil waste and the feasibility of implementing the technology in rural areas. To implement and analyze the feasibility, a case study has been carried out in a rural area in Sarawak, Malaysia. The finding shows the electricity cost calculation of small towns like Long Lama, Long Miri, and Long Atip, with ten nearby schools, and suggests that using EFB from palm oil waste is cheaper and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The study also points out the need to conduct further research on power systems, such as energy storage and microgrids, to better understand the future of power systems. By collecting data through questionnaires and surveys, an analysis has been carried out to determine the approximate cost and quantity of palm oil waste to generate cheaper renewable energy. We concluded that electricity generation from palm oil waste is cost-effective and beneficial. The infrastructure can be a microgrid connected to the main grid.

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Keywords

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