Petronas looks to the sun with twin station launch

Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) this week launched a new flagship station combining the Solaris Putra and Solaris Serdang, situated along the PLUS expressway and Besreya highway respectively. PetDag's CEO Aminul Rashid Mohd Zamzam claims the twin stations are "first of their kind" – but what's so special about their energy-efficient and customer-centric design?

For a start, the design includes a number of energy-efficient features - 1) Solar photovoltaic panels with the capacity to generate 200 kilowatts of electricity per hour — the energy needed to power up to 90 households a year.  2) Rain water harvesting system (collected from the roof and stored in underground water tank of 82.5 cubic meter capacity), with a filtration system for water to be used for WC flushing, outdoor general cleaning & watering plants 3) A nitrogen tyre inflator to increase fuel economy and tyre life, 4) LED light fittings at the forecourt, compound lightings, C-store and common area (dining area, staircases, corridors). 5) Energy Management System (EMS) to control the forecourt, compound lights, MID sign, C-store & back office. It also controls the air-conditioning temperature & chiller temperature.

The Malaysian fuel retailer is also taking its 'one-stop shop' centre concept further with fresh food snacks, premium quality beverages including Starbucks coffee and refreshing Chatime freshly-brewed bubble-tea. There's free-wifi and even a Starbucks Drive-Thru service at the stations. Designed in house by Petronas architects the seating area features a huge 8 meter diameter fan which gently circulates air providing a cooler environment allowing less reliance on energy intensive air conditioning. These big fans are also known as HVLS fans...(high volume low speed) fan. The cool breeze from this fan is equivalent to 30 standard fans but uses the energy of about 4 standard fan.

The green and yellow clad smiling sunshine façade of the c-store, designed by Minale Tattersfield sums up the retailer's eco-friendly, customer-driven ambitions. Minale's petrol station design team have also been responsible for the interior look and layout, plus signage elements of other stations including Sri Hartamas (see post on Sri Hartamas gets a refresh).

Interior c-store and forecourt design elements are in fact being rolled out across the entire network as part of a RM200 million investment to ensure its stations are 'the place to be'.

The operational expenditure of the flagship stations are about the same compared to a standard station but in terms of energy and utility cost, they are three to four times cheaper to run.