With the pace of vehicle electrification advancing at a rate of knots, it is only natural to ponder what would become of the petrol station in the not too distant future. Well, Shell Malaysia hasn’t been waiting for the future to reveal itself.
In fact, the effort to make its stations in Malaysia more sustainable began back in 2019 when two stations earned the Green Building Index (GBI) Certification* for their use of solar power, efficient water fittings and a monitoring system to reduce energy wastage.
Since then, 151 Shell stations have been installed with a total of 15,929 solar panels with an accumulated capacity of 7.17-megawatt peak (MWp); enough to power 1,853 households per year. These 151 solar-powered Shell stations also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4,448 tonnes a year – equivalent to the planting of 79,185 trees.
The gold standard Shell station
As Malaysia’s first provisional Gold GBI certified petrol station, the Shell Mint Hotel is described as “a station that is integrated with a multifaceted approach of combining both renewable energy (RE) and energy-efficient (EE) innovations that reflects the GBI Gold Standard requirements”. To better comprehend its achievements, consider the following:
– It has a solar Photo Voltaic (PV) rooftop system which generates almost 90,575KWh of electricity a year, enough to power approximately 382 households per month. The electricity generated also reduces the station’s carbon emission by 62.8 tonnes a year, which is equivalent to saving 1,118 trees.
– To reduce the station’s water consumption, a rainwater harvesting system was installed to collect and store rainwater for the station’s usage. The water conservation system saves 635,000 litres of water per year, which is equivalent to supplying to 24 households for a month.
– The Shell Mint Hotel station also has its own compost machine which converts food waste into fertilisers; it is capable of collecting about 30kg of food waste each day and converting it into 6kg of fertilisers; equivalent to 2,190 kg per year, fertilising up to 4,000 potted plants.
– Other low carbon innovations include energy-efficient air conditioners and chillers, recycling facilities and a smart LED lighting system.
Fuelling station to charging station?
One of the ‘obvious’ transformations which a fuelling station can undergo in parallel with the electrification of automobiles is to become a charging facility for EVs and plug-in hybrids. Sporting two new charging bays on its forecourt, the Shell Mint Hotel now counts itself as part of the Shell Recharge network offering charging services across Klang Valley. Currently, there are a total of seven sites, all of which are accessible via the ParkEasy mobile app.
Of even greater significance is perhaps the recently announced cross-border high performance charging (HPC) network jointly initiated by Shell and Porsche where 12 DC charging points would be made available over six Shell stations (up to 180kW worth of rapid charging per station) situated along the North-South highway, stretching from Singapore to Penang. Expect these DC charging stations to roll out by the third quarter of this year.
“At Shell, we are committed to our purpose to power progress by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. Shell Mint Hotel Station is our latest milestone towards fulfilling this commitment. By powering Malaysia with cleaner energy and innovation mobility solutions, Shell hopes to mobilise the energy sector and increase its efficiency by offering products and services with lower carbon emissions. We must all come together to ensure a greener future.” said Shairan Huzani Husain, Shell Malaysia Trading and Shell Timur Managing Director.
At a time when feel-good news is hard to come by, especially when it involves giant multinationals doing the right thing, Shell Malaysia’s efforts in reducing the carbon footprint of its retail stations and getting them ready to serve electrified vehicles are laudable (if not vital) as the automotive industry undergoes a once-in-century transformation in a bid to reign in greenhouse gases.
Shell Malaysia presently has three GBI-certified sites while five other stations are being assessed for GBI certification, it aims to achieve a total of 300 solar-powered and 40 GBI-certified sites by 2021.
(*The Green Building Index (GBI) is Malaysia’s industry recognised green rating tool for buildings to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness among Developers, Architects, Engineers, Planners, Designers, Contractors and the Public about environmental issues and our responsibility to the future generations. The GBI rating tool provides an opportunity for developers and building owners to design and construct green, sustainable buildings that can provide energy savings, water savings, a healthier indoor environment, better connectivity to public transport and the adoption of recycling and greenery for their projects and reduce our impact on the environment.)