The Electrical Engineering Technical Division (EETD) of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) hosted a well-attended webinar, “Large-Scale Solar O&M from a Practitioner’s Perspective: Reliability, Revenue Protection and Real-World Risk Management,” on Saturday, 18 July 2026, via Zoom. The two-hour session, carrying BEM CPD accreditation, drew close to 70 participants comprising engineers, asset managers, project owners, financiers and consultants.
The webinar was delivered by Ir. Noor Iziddin Abdullah Haji Ghazali, PMP, a C-level renewable energy professional with more than 22 years of experience across solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), energy efficiency and project management. He has led clean energy initiatives spanning utility-scale and rooftop solar across Malaysia and the region, including collaborations with GIZ/C40 Cities Finance Facility. As a Professional Engineer with Practising Certificate (PEPC) and certified Project Management Professional (PMP), he is well known for translating complex technical issues into board-level commercial, operational and financial decisions.
Rather than revisiting textbook fundamentals, the session was framed firmly around field experience. Ir. Noor Iziddin reminded participants that operating and maintaining a Large-Scale Solar (LSS) plant goes far beyond keeping panels running — it means protecting generation output, availability, performance ratio, revenue streams, contractual compliance and long-term asset value. Drawing on real project cases, he covered common operational challenges, inverter trips, transformer and RMU issues, grid interruptions, communication breakdowns, weather-related disruptions, delayed corrective actions, warranty claims and spare parts readiness — as well as the coordination complexities of working with OEMs, TNB, contractors and asset owners that can make or break an O&M team’s ability to respond quickly to plant faults.
A central theme was governance and decision-making. He explained how data-driven monitoring, root-cause analysis, preventive maintenance planning, risk registers and financial loss quantification sharpen decisions at management and board level. Particularly valuable was his focus on translating technical events into commercial language, converting downtime and faults into kWh loss, tariff loss, downtime exposure and liquidated damages risk. This “engineering-to-boardroom” translation often bridges technical teams and the financial decision-makers overseeing LSS assets.
The session drew active engagement throughout, reflecting strong industry interest in practical solar asset management insights as Malaysia’s renewable energy capacity grows. Attendees valued hearing directly from a practitioner who has navigated LSS O&M’s operational and commercial realities first-hand.
EETD thanks Ir. Noor Iziddin Abdullah Haji Ghazali for sharing his practical knowledge, and all participants, IEM staff and committee members who supported the event. As Malaysia’s large-scale solar sector matures, such webinars help equip engineers with the practical tools needed to protect asset performance, manage risk and safeguard revenue across a plant’s operational lifetime.
