July-August , 2022 | @ green

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“ Having a robust agricultural industry , Malaysia is a major palm oil producer that contributed approximately five to seven per cent of GDP from 2012 to 2017 . The industry by-products such as empty fruit bunches ( EFB ) and palm oil mill effluent ( POME ) are key bioenergy resources for RE generation .

“ Also , Malaysia has 189 river basins and does not experience recurring drought . This feature could be explored for large or small-scale hydropower development .

“ For geothermal resources , several studies by the relevant government bodies indicated approximately 229MW geothermal potentials in Sabah and Perak .

“ Given the abundance of alternative RE resources ( solar , bioenergy , small hydro ) with fewer technical complexity and lower costs in Malaysia , geothermal generation could be considered an option in the long term .”

FiT rates are routinely reviewed

The FiT rate is a fixed premium rate for each renewable energy unit sold to DLs such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad ( TNB ) and NUR Power Sdn Bhd . The FiT rate differs for different renewable resources and installed capacities .

According to Hamzah , the FiT mechanism was introduced in 2011 to promote the growth of RE capacity and generation in Malaysia , especially the relatively newer technology or resources that were less prevalent in Malaysia , namely the solar photovoltaic , biogas and biomass resources .

“ FiT rates are routinely reviewed to enhance the cost competitiveness of RE generation compared to non-RE electricity generation , such as coal and

natural gas , in line with the gradually optimised overall development costs due to improvement in engineering designs , financing opportunities , regulatory framework and industry awareness in Malaysia .

“ On the other hand , hydropower is a mature technology with established technical requirements and development costs , resulting in a relatively stable FiT rate .

“ Furthermore , the e-bidding process under the FiT mechanism was introduced in 2018 to improve the price discovery and pricing efficiency for RE generation through competitive bidding .

“ In the long run , it is envisioned that the cost of electricity via RE resources will be competitive with non-RE resources to improve the sustainability of RE generation , therefore optimising the overall cost of electricity and progressively decarbonising the Malaysian electricity sector ,” he explained . — @ green

THE MALAYSIAN Government launched the Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap ( MyRER ) in 2021 , aimed at achieving 31 per cent of Renewable Energy ( RE ) installed capacity by 2025 and 40 per cent in 2035 .

Touching on the progress of the target , SEDA Malaysia CEO Dato ’ Hamzah Hussin told @ Green that the national RE installed capacity had reached 24 per cent as of 2020 .

“ This target supports Malaysia ’ s global climate commitment to reduce its economy-wide carbon intensity ( against GDP ) by 45 per cent in 2030 compared to the 2005 level . Realising the government ’ s vision is crucial in supporting the nation achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions ( NDC ) targets .

“ The MyRER strategic framework builds upon four technology-specific pillars , namely solar photovoltaic , bioenergy , hydropower and new solutions or resources that will facilitate the achievement of the RE target .

“ The roadmap includes initiatives such as new RE business models , strengthening the electricity grid , alignment with financial sectors and human capital development ,” explained Hamzah .

The framework considers the outcome of the Roadmap assessment of available RE resources , existing institutional and regulatory framework , industry practices and technology adoption , and projected future social and economic development . Key actions are planned to realise respective milestone targets up to 2025 and post 2025 to 2035 .

Initiatives to realise RE target

Currently , the government has set out several initiatives to achieve the country ’ s RE target , namely the Feed-in Tariff ( FiT ) mechanism , Large-Scale Solar ( LSS ), Net Energy Metering ( NEM ) 3.0 programme , Self-Consumption ( SELCO ) and large hydropower projects . The introduction of these programmes has contributed significantly to RE development in Malaysia .

“ Taking into consideration the push for clean energy transition and global economic climate , various commitments and collaboration of all stakeholders remain crucial to achieving the nation ’ s RE target ,” said Hamzah .

According to MyRER , the introduction of the LSS auction in 2016 has added 857 MW or 56 per cent to the total solar PV installed capacity as at the end of 2020 . Also , 593 MW of RE capacity have been installed under the FiT programme , most of which has been taken up by solar PV ( 322 MW ) as of May 2022 .

Meanwhile , biomass , biogas , and small hydro have a combined cumulative installed capacity of 252 MW under the programme . As of December 2020 , 93 MW capacity has been installed under the SELCO scheme .

On the other hand , as stated in the framework , the large hydro scheme is not available for application by public or private developers . Due to its high development costs and technical requirements , all large hydropower plants in Malaysia are developed by regional utilities .

The development plans are endorsed by the Planning and Implementation Committee for Electricity Supply and Tariff ( JPPPET ).

The existing large hydro installed capacity in Malaysia is 5,692 MW . The JPPPET has approved an additional 1,777 MW of large hydropower plants , which are expected to operate commercially from 2026 to 2035 .

As for the off-grid self-consumption , these projects involve RE plants operating off-grid and do not receive any financial support . These plants are used for rural electrification purposes and / or for self-consumption . By the end of 2020 , 589 MW of capacity had been classified under this category . Biomass projects contribute mainly to this , with an installed capacity of 524 MW .